DeLorean DMC-12

Aimed squarely at the American market, the DeLorean DMC-12 was first shown in prototype form in 1976 but the first production cars did not roll off the Northern Irish production lines until January 1981. 

The brainchild of American automotive tycoon John DeLorean, the car was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and engineered by Colin Chapman of Lotus fame. The backbone chassis was very similar to that on the Lotus Esprit, as was the suspension which was independent all round with double wishbones at the front and a multilink set up to the rear. Steering was by rack-and-pinion with disc brakes all round.

Power came from a PRV (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) fuel-injected 2.8-litre V6 mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox that produced 170bhp and could propel the car to 60mph in 8.8 seconds. The bodywork was made from unpainted stainless steel and had gullwing doors that only needed 11-inches of side clearance to open to their full extent.

Only around 9,000 DeLoreans were produced before production came to an end in 1982 when DeLorean was controversially implicated in a drug running charge from which he was later cleared. Survivors are now rare and sought after, especially as the car has cemented itself in popular 20th Century culture since starring in the Hollywood movie ‘Back to the Future’.

Virtually all parts are still readily available in America as the Irish factory’s large stock was bought up by the DeLorean Motor Company of Texas, who have just announced that they are to re-commence production of the car but using an electric motor. The first one was unveiled at the New York Motor Show at the end of February with a proposed price tag of $95,000 so you can expect a lot of renewed interest in the model very shortly.

Made in August 1982, this particular car is in truly exceptional condition and has only covered 11,500 miles from new. It appears to have spent its early life in America and comes with a very large history file relating to this time. This includes a bill of sale from July 2002 when the car was sold by Gullwing Motors of Long Island, NY, to Wayne and Debbie Windham of Jacksonville, Florida, for $20,000. At this time it was described as a “one owner car, only 7,000 miles, absolutely beautiful”.

The Windhams then set about a meticulous improvement programme costing many thousands of dollars which involved the replacement or refurbishment of many parts, including a thorough mechanical overhaul, all of which is faithfully detailed in the history file.

The car was imported to the UK in October 2008 and has had only one private owner since (being briefly registered to the importer beforehand). It remains in excellent condition throughout and comes with much literature relating to the model including three thick volumes entitled ‘DMC Technical Service Manual’, ‘DMC Parts Manual’ and ‘DMC Overview Manual’.

MOTd until October and taxed until the end of May, it is ready for immediate use and must surely be as good an example as you could ever wish to find.