The DeLorean

The DMC DeLorean, a rear-engine, two-seat sports car, was built for the American market by John DeLorean's company from 1981 to 1983. It was the only model the short-lived automaker ever produced. Though sometimes called the DMC-12 internally before production, that name was never used in sales or marketing. Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the car, which stands out for its gull-wing doors and brushed stainless-steel body panels, but it was known for only modest performance. Power came from a V6 PRV engine, a unit also used by Peugeot, Renault, and Volvo.

The first production car was announced on January 21, 1981, and the design saw several minor tweaks to the hood, wheels, and interior before production ended in late December 1982, shortly after DMC filed for bankruptcy. Around 9,000 units were built in total. Despite its short run, the DeLorean became famous for its role as a time machine in the *Back to the Future* films. Although it gained a reputation for poor build quality and an unsatisfying drive, it still has a devoted following. An estimated 6,500 DeLoreans were still on the road as of 2015.

John DeLorean left General Motors in 1973 to start his own company, aiming to build a two-seat sports coupe. Early announcements in the mid-1970s hinted at advanced features like a plastic unibody using Elastic Reservoir Molding (ERM), a mid-engine layout, a driver-side airbag, 10-mph bumpers, and wide Pirelli P7 tires promising 0.9g of lateral acceleration—none of which made it to the production car. Stainless steel was chosen for the body primarily because of a paint-finish problem with ERM; rather than fix the painting issue, DeLorean opted for stainless skin, offsetting the higher material cost by skipping paint. Allegheny Ludlum had built promotional stainless-steel vehicles for Ford in the 1970s, and based on those, DeLorean and chief engineer Bill Collins chose stainless over aluminum.

Originally, the car was meant to have a centrally mounted Wankel rotary engine. That plan changed when Comotor production ended, and the favored engine became the Ford Cologne V6. The chassis was initially planned to use ERM to save weight and cost, but DeLorean had bought the rights to the untested technology, which ultimately proved unsuitable. The first prototype, completed in October 1976 by Bill Collins, was called the DSV-1 (DeLorean Safety Vehicle). It later became the DSV-12 and then the DMC-12, the "12" referencing a target price of $12,000. This prototype had a full-width knee bar, flat brown leather seats, and a steering wheel with a fat center meant to house an airbag, plus a full set of Stewart-Warner gauges with a central warning system—though it was suspected production cars would lack this feature.

The Ford V6 was soon dropped in favor of a complete drivetrain from the Citroën CX 2000, seen as more reliable. But the 1,985 cc inline-four from Citroën was deemed underpowered, and when Citroën learned of plans to turbocharge it, they suggested DMC find another engine. Eventually, the fuel-injected V6 PRV engine was chosen, forcing the engine location to shift from mid-engined in Prototype-1 to rear-engined in Prototype-2, a layout kept for production. These changes caused major schedule pressure, and the design needed almost complete re-engineering. That task went to English engineer Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars, who replaced most of the unproven materials and techniques with those used by Lotus, including a steel backbone chassis.

A small number of pre-production cars with fiberglass bodies, called "black cars" or mules, were used by Lotus during development. After several delays and cost overruns, production began in late 1980 at the Dunmurry factory near Belfast. DMC dropped the DMC-12 name for the now-$25,000 car, calling it simply the DeLorean. Production started in December 1980, with the first car announced on January 21, 1981. The company went into receivership in February 1982 and filed for bankruptcy on October 26 of that year, just days after John DeLorean was arrested on drug-trafficking charges. Consolidated International bought the unsold and partially completed cars, assembling about 100 more to finish production on December 24, 1982. Before the car's release, there was a waiting list of eager buyers.