Lot 415: Delorean DMC-12

John Zachary DeLorean worked for Chrysler and Packard Motor Car Company before moving to General Motors, where he made his mark in the early Sixties by creating the famous Pontiac GTO. DeLorean, however, had a dream to start his own car company and create an 'ethical' sports car incorporating new technologies and safety features such as airbags. Initially, the DeLorean car plant was to be built in Puerto Rico. However, the Northern Ireland Development Corporation and the British Government heard about the project and offered DeLorean a package of loans and grants to build his factory in Belfast. The car was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Ital Design in Italy. Other designs by him include the VW Scirocco (1974) & Maserati 3200GT (1998.The first prototype DMC-12 was up and running by the end of 1976 and the factory was built on a brown field site in Dunmurray on the outskirts of Belfast, the first cars started rolling off the state of the art production line in the spring of 1981. Initially, development work on the car was scheduled to be carried out by Porsche, however they wanted a 4 year timescale to do the work.The British Government wanted the car in production in 18mths, so Colin Chapman and the team at Lotus, in need of cash themselves, stepped forward. Unfortunately many of DeLoreans' visions of his car were cast aside during development. In the end, the only real part of DeLoreans' design that made it onto the production DMC-12 were the V6 engine, stainless steel body panels and gull-wing doors. The DeLorean DM12 was made famous mostly by the "Back to the Future" movies where it starred as the "time machine". Exactly 8583 DeLoreans were built in the factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland between the model years of 1981 and 1983. DeLoreans can only be described as unique or stunning. The car used methods and materials never thought of before and was told to be an "ethical sports car". Originally, John DeLorean had planned to sell his new sports car for $12,000 (hence the 12 in DMC-12), but production costs and various other details put the price at $25,000. However, he decided to stick with the original model name of DMC-12. The car offered for sale here is said by the owner to be a very original vehicle in remarkably well preserved condition and only 13K on the clock, a figure said to be supported by documentary as well as condition evidence. The only modifications appear to be the addition of spot lamps, easily removed, and a modern efficient wiring system for the cooling fans. Also replaced are the gas door struts, and the trailing arm bolts which have been replaced with ‘inconel’ aircraft grade material.The interior is said to be in excellent condition, reflecting the relatively low usage, and the car has been dry stored for most of its life, latterly in a car pod. This would appear to be a very rare opportunity to own one of the very best examples of this rare iconic marquee.