1981 - 1983 DeLorean DMC-12 Coupe
Posted by David Kinney
In the late 1970s, flamboyant former GM executive John Z. DeLorean - known for the success of his Wide Track Pontiacs - set out to build the perfect sports car, with plans to sell it for just $12,000 (thus the nomenclature “DMC-12″). Enlisting the help of Lotus for engineering and Giorgio Guigiaro for the design, DeLorean looked primed for success. He had towns, states, counties, municipalities and even countries pining for his manufacturing plant, with Northern Ireland emerging as the successful suitor. This was thanks to over $130 million in loans and tax breaks provided by the British government.
Somewhere along the line, however, things went astray. Blame can be placed on the anemic 130-hp Peugeot-Renault-Volvo (PRV) V6, or if you prefer, on the poor build quality. A lack of enthusiastic throttle response left the automotive press with few good things to say, and as the list price soared to almost three times the initial promise, the DMC-12 was a tough sell. The cars were built as 1981 and 1982 models, though some were titled as 1983s. After the company went bankrupt, more cars were assembled out of parts, leaving the exact build number something of a controversy. DeLorean went to great lengths to try and rescue his dream, and wound up involved in a cocaine deal that turned out to be an FBI sting.
The car itself had a striking appearance, with gullwing doors and a stainless steel finish. Your choices were limited to automatic or five-speed, and gray or black leather interior, as all DeLoreans left the factory fully equipped. The V6 was mounted in the rear, with 15-inch rear wheels that were an inch larger in diameter than in front, to help compensate for oversteer. At about 2,700 pounds, the car could achieve 60 mph in less than eight seconds.
Of course, the DMC-12’s greatest and most enduring claim to fame was its starring role opposite Michael J. Fox in Robert Zemeckis’s Back to the Future, the box office hit of 1985. Though this publicity was too late in coming to save the company, it has caused the DeLorean to be remembered fondly by no shortage of car nuts who were kids at the time.
(From the February 2005 issue of Sports Car Market magazine.)