1981 DMC-12 DELOREAN: A ROLLING TIME MACHINE

The DeLorean DMC-12 was the dream of John Z. DeLorean, a former General Motors executive best known for helping shape the Pontiac GTO. After leaving GM, he founded the DeLorean Motor Company in 1975 with the goal of building a futuristic sports car under his own name. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, the DMC-12 stood out immediately with its wedge-shaped body, brushed stainless-steel panels, and dramatic gull-wing doors.

Production began in 1981 at a factory in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, backed by major government support meant to bring jobs to an area struggling with unemployment during the Troubles. Although the car looked exotic, it was powered by a rear-mounted 2.85-liter PRV V6 that produced around 130 horsepower in U.S. form, making it slower than its appearance suggested. Early cars also suffered from quality-control issues, hurting the brand just as it reached customers.

Sales quickly fell short of expectations. The DMC-12 was expensive, reviews were mixed, the economy was weak, and production costs were high. By early 1982, DeLorean Motor Company was placed into receivership, and production ended that same year after roughly 9,000 cars were built. The company’s collapse was made even worse when John DeLorean was arrested in a high-profile cocaine-trafficking case in 1982, though he was later acquitted in 1984 after his defense argued he had been entrapped.

Although the company failed, the car became immortal. In 1985, the DMC-12 was chosen as the time machine in Back to the Future, where its stainless-steel body and gull-wing doors made it look like something from another era. What started as an underpowered, short-lived sports car became one of the most recognizable movie cars in history, turning the DeLorean into both a cautionary tale and a permanent icon of automotive pop culture.