1981 Delorean DMC-12

Notes

1981 DeLorean DMC-12174ci Volvo-sourced Engine with 130 HPThree-speed AutomaticMade Famous by the Movie Back to the FutureHistoryThe DeLorean DMC-12 was the brain-child of John ZacharyDeLorean, an American automobile engineer and executive. ThisGT type production car was designed and developed in the 1970s,but production and funding issues delayed its introduction until1981, the year model of this car. DeLorean Motor Company was anUnited States corporation, headquartered in New York, butDeLoreans were build in Dunmurry, Ireland with support of theBritish Government. John DeLorean considered several buildsites in the US and around the world, but the British Governmentwanted to resolve poverty and religious strife in Ireland andoffered him the best support, subsidies and tax breaks.Its not easy to design and build a car from scratch, but JohnDeLorean knew engineering and the automobile business. This isnot a kit car assembled from off the shelf parts. Almost everythingwas designed specifically for the DeLorean. The timeless goodlooks were from celebrated designer Giorgetto Giugiaro of ItalDesigns, now famous for his design of such cars as the AlfaRomero Brera, Ferrari 250 GT, Maserati Ghibli, DeTomasoMangusta, Lamborghini Cala, and many more. The DeLorean is aunique car with several distinguishing features. The doors are ofthe gull-wing design, opened by gas struts and crysotwist torsionbars designed by Grumman Aerospace. Lotus designed thedouble Y frame. The fuel tank is safely nestled in the front Y andthe engine is cradled in the rear Y. That engine is an aluminumalloy V6 jointly developed by Peugeot, Renault and Volvo anddesignated the PRV6. It employed a very successful early use ofmechanical fuel injection by Bosch. It has a trans-axle setup, rearwheel drive and fully independent suspension.While the car appears to be of stamped metal panels likeconventional cars, it is actually a composite car with a FRP(Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic) core covered by stainless steelpanels. The 304 stainless steel costs about four times that ofconventional steel. No factory cars were ever painted, but about 4were gold plated for a special American Express promotion. Eventhe Craig WS450 cassette/radio was state of the art at the time.There was only one production model of DeLorean automobile theDMC-12 by company designation. That was part of DeLoreansplan for anethicalcar that would be fun to drive, safe to operate,and long lasting. Fewer than 10,000 DeLoreans were built and soldfrom 1981 to 1983.This DeLoreanThe car was purchased from one of the original investors ofDeLorean Motor Company. He was a beloved local physician whomostly drove it from his home to a nearby golf course.Exterior/BodyThe original stainless steel is properly grained and in excellentcondition. The front and rear fascia's were removed, stripped andrefinished in original color. The windscreen was replaced due to arock chip.