DeLorean DMC-12
It's from 1981, before you were born.
- Iconic generation
- 1981 DMC-12
- Origin
- Dunmurry, Northern Ireland
- Designer
- Giorgetto Giugiaro
- Engine
- 2.85L PRV V6 (rear-mounted)
- Power
- 130 hp (US spec)
- 0–60 mph
- approx. 9.5–10.5 sec
- Top speed
- approx. 110–120 mph
- Production
- 1981–1982 (approx. 9,000 built)
About
As of 2026, it's 45 years old.
The DeLorean DMC-12 should have been a footnote: a single sports car from an upstart company, built in Northern Ireland, with brushed stainless-steel bodywork that never got painted and gull-wing doors that looked spectacular and occasionally trapped you inside. It was underpowered, overpriced, and the company collapsed in spectacular, scandal-ridden fashion after barely a year.
And then a screenwriter needed a time machine. Cast as the flux-capacitor-equipped DeLorean in 1985's 'Back to the Future,' the DMC-12 became one of the most famous cars in the history of film, immortal at exactly 88 miles per hour. The movie did what John DeLorean never could: made the car a legend.
Underneath the futuristic stainless skin was a fairly ordinary 2.85-litre PRV V6, shared with a few sensible European saloons, that wheezed out modest power thanks to emissions regulations. The DeLorean looked like it could hit warp speed; in reality it took over 10 seconds to reach 60mph.
But none of that matters. The DMC-12 is proof that a car's legend is written in culture, not on a spec sheet. It failed as a business, succeeded as a movie star, and is now beloved precisely because of its glorious, gull-winged improbability. Great Scott.
DeLorean DMC-12 through the years
DeLorean dreams big
Ex-GM exec John DeLorean founds his own company to build a 'safety' sports car.
DMC-12 enters production
Stainless-steel, gull-winged production begins at the Dunmurry factory.
Collapse
The company folds amid financial scandal after barely a year of production.
Back to the Future
The DeLorean becomes a time machine on screen and a global pop-culture icon.
Cult immortality
Owners' clubs and parts suppliers keep the gull-wing dream alive for decades.
