The American new edition of the DeLorean Motor Company is picking up speed: This year they finally want to present the electric successor to the legendary DeLorean DMC-12, the To report According to him, the concept has been gathering dust in drawers for more than ten years. At the beginning of April, only a teaser was published, now it is finally becoming concrete. The vehicle, dubbed Alpha 5, is to be seen live for the first time in August, and the car manufacturer is now showing the first images and driving data as a foretaste.
Probably the most striking feature right at the beginning: Like its predecessor, the DeLorean Alpha 5 will have huge gullwing doors. And although the vehicle is modern through and through, it is still reminiscent of its iconic predecessor. The rear section with thin struts is back, as is the original body shape – coupé.
However, the front – and also the rear – have changed significantly, are less angular and significantly flatter. And indeed: The new vehicle says goodbye to the two-seater concept and offers a total of four full seats.
DeLorean Alpha 5: Impressive performance
In terms of performance, the Alpha 5 doesn’t have much in common with a DMC-12 anymore. The oldie offers 132 hp, 220 Newton meters of torque and has a top speed of 198 kilometers per hour. From a standing start, the old combustion engine takes eleven seconds to reach 100 km/h. The Alpha 5 does this in just three seconds and reaches a top speed of 250 km/h. Nothing is known about the horsepower so far. After all, DeLorean has already announced that the range should be over 500 kilometers and that the battery capacity is planned to be over 100 kilowatt hours.
Rather, details can not be found on the newly designed homepage and the company’s press release. A few interesting facts, however, are provided by a conversation with the former Tesla and Karma manager Joost de Vries, who in his capacity as DeLorean CEO worked with the British specialist magazine “car” spoke.
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Designer of the original revisited
The US company plans to build the vehicle in Italy and source the engines from Great Britain. The conversation also explains why the electric DeLorean is so reminiscent of the classic car – because none other than Giorgetto Giugiaro, the designer of the DMC-12 at the time, was commissioned to design it.
It turned out, according to de Vries, that Giugiaro’s design studio “never really stopped designing DeLoreans”. When the drafts were viewed, designs for other vehicle types also fell off the shelves, for example a DeLorean SUV. The boss reveals: After the Alpha 5 is finally rolling, the company is planning a much larger offer – and wants to revive the old ideas. A sedan and an SUV are therefore already in the making, it is said.
Not a pure electric car manufacturer
The plans for future vehicle drives are somewhat surprising. According to the interview, one is “not convinced that batteries of wisdom are the last resort.” Accordingly, the SUV is to be equipped with a hydrogen drive, another model even with a V8 combustion engine.
In order to finance all this, the CEO explains, DeLorean wants to be taken public soon. Because: “Building cars is not cheap, and you need a lot of money to realize it.”
Speaking of money: The Tech Magazine “IGNreports that the price could be around $175,000. The DeLorean Alpha 5 would thus be in direct competition with the Lucid Air Dream, making it less part of the mobility revolution and more a vehicle for the well-heeled.