DeLorean Time Machine

The only vehicle capable of making the impossible journey through time at eighty-eight miles per hour.

The DeLorean Time Machine is a retrofitted DMC DeLorean sports car engineered to traverse time when reaching exactly 88 miles per hour. Powered by the flux capacitor, this unique vehicle requires 1.21 gigawatts of electricity to breach the space-time continuum. Initially conceived as a refrigerator attached to a truck for a nuclear test, director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale pivoted to the DeLorean after Steven Spielberg vetoed the original idea due to child safety concerns. The car's distinctive gullwing doors were chosen specifically because they would appear alien to 1950s observers. In 2021, this iconic machine was officially added to the Library of Congress's National Historic Vehicle Register.

Quick Facts

Series: Back to the Future
First: Back to the Future (1985)
Creator: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
Affiliation: Marty McFly, Emmett Brown
Class: Time travel car

Lore & Background

During development, the team decided Doc Brown built the machine in his garage rather than a corporation, giving it a "slapdash, kind of cool look." Production designer Lawrence Paull worked with artists Ron Cobb and illustrator Andrew Probert to ensure the vehicle appeared fixed together from common parts. When Ford Motor Company offered $75,000 to use a Mustang instead, Bob Gale famously retorted that "Doc Brown doesn't drive a fucking Mustang." The specific speed of 88 mph was chosen because it looked "cool" on the speedometer and was easy to remember; notably, a custom gauge was built because a 1979 law limited standard speedometers to 85 mph. The device originally called the "Temporal Field Capacitor" was renamed by Michael Fink and Zemeckis after learning of "neutron flux," which they felt sounded more believable.

Reader's Guide

Three main DeLoreans were purchased from a collector for production: an "A" car (Hero), a "B" car (Stunt), and a "C" car (Interior). The A car is currently displayed at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The B car, used for stunts across all three films, was struck by a train and left as rubble; its body panels were sold to Planet Hollywood Hawaii before being recovered and are now displayed in Hubbardston, Massachusetts. The C car was used for interior footage and was torn apart so the camera could fit inside. For off-road scenes in the third film, the DeLorean was fitted onto a modified VW Beetle frame. A seventh vehicle, a full-sized fiberglass model, was used for exterior shots where the vehicle hovers above the set and where the actors interact with it. In total, five real DeLoreans and one process car were utilized throughout the trilogy's filming.

Did You Know?

The idea of a refrigerator time machine was scrapped because Steven Spielberg feared children would climb inside and get trapped.
The engine sound in the movies is actually a mix of a Porsche 928 V8 and the Star Wars landspeeder.