Alexander Collision Center

It's Back From the Future: The DeLorean!

Recently, it was announced that DeLorean is going back into production and the world is waiting to see what this carmaker has up its sleeves. With plans to produce a limited run of new DMC-12’s starting as early as 2017, car enthusiasts and all of us at Alexander Collision Center are obviously very curious about the news.

So, to own a car like this, you won't have to go Back to the Future or buy one at auction, because yes—the DeLorean is back!

The new production run of DMC-12’s will be set at 300 units and will run from 2017 to 2021. The price for a new DMC-12? Less than $100,000. Specific pricing has not been released yet. Automotive experts are predicting that the  DMC-12 will be powered by a Chevy LS3 or some type of other V6 engine.

The revived DeLorean Motor Company was reformed in 1995 and has been supplying restoration and NOS (new old stock) parts to current DMC-12 owners ever since, but they haven't considered making new DeLoreans until now. Hopefully pretty soon, we'll be able to see DeLoreans here on our roads in Oxnard and throughout the state of CA. So, get ready for the new DeLorean, a car that captured the public's imagination many years ago. One day, at Alexander Collision Center, hopefully we'll be able to be the first shop in CA to work on one of the new DeLoreans!

Let's go back in time to take a look at the history of this iconic (yet enigmatic) vehicle and its impact on the automotive industry:

• The car featured gull-wing doors and an innovative fiberglass chassis and underbody structure, along with a brushed stainless steel body. The car became widely known and iconic for its appearance and was modified as a time machine in the Back to the Future film trilogy.
• Executive John DeLorean worked for Chrysler, Packard, Pontiac and Chevrolet before setting up his own company in 1973.
• The DeLorean was built in Dunmurry, a suburb of Belfast, with the first car rolling off the production line in 1981.
• Approximately 9,000 were made before production halted in early 1983. Only 16 official right-hand-drive cars were ever produced.

• The car was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Ital Design (who also designed the Lotus Esprit and the original Volkswagen Golf).
• The body panels weren’t painted, as they were made from the same brushed stainless steel used in the catering industry. However, three cars were plated in solid gold. The original plan was to build 100 as part of a Christmas 1980 promotion for American Express gold card members. Only two of the $85,000 cars were sold, but a third was also built with spare parts, in case one of the other two was damaged.
• The engine was a version of the 2.7-litre V6 that was developed jointly by Peugeot, Renault and Volvo. It was also fitted in the Renault 30.
• The official 0-60 mph time for the DMC-12 was 8.8 seconds.
• The DMC-12 was so named the because it was originally priced at $12,000. However, by the time it came to market, the car had a suggested retail price of $25,000 (you could option an automatic transmission for an extra $650).
• A total of six DeLorean cars were used for the making of the Back to the Future movies, along with one built entirely out of fiberglass for scenes in which the car had to fly. Only three of the cars still exist, plus the one that was destroyed at the end of the trilogy’s final film.

Sources: Wikipedia, Motor Age and U.S. Auto News