sports coupe
DeLorean reveals the first details: The cult car from “Back to the Future” is getting an electric successor
The DeLorean DMC-12 with open gullwing doors. Now there are first details about a new electric car based on the cult car.
© Daniel Karmann / DPA
In the 80s, the DeLorean car was cult thanks to “Back to the Future”. After that it became quiet around the sports coupé. Now it is experiencing a revival – as an electric car. DeLorean has revealed the first details of the concept vehicle.
When the film trilogy “Back to the Future” first came to the cinemas in 1985, the DeLorean DMC-12 gained worldwide fame through its appearance as a time machine. The angular car with the steel body and the gullwing doors was only made about 9000 times, the car manufacturer failed. But now the DeLorean Motor Company has unveiled an electric car, a concept vehicle of the cult car.
Last Friday, the company released a pixelated teaser with the first official image of the car. A three-quarter shot followed on Monday, showing the left shoulder line and the taillight of the concept car.
However, the electric car will hardly resemble its well-known namesake. As the image shows, the rear of the vehicle will be designed for aerodynamic efficiency – typical of an electric car. For this purpose, the rear has air vents to direct the air flow. And it looks like there’s an extendable rear wing installed over the taillights.
In addition, the car, which like its famous predecessor has gullwing doors, will appear with a luminous V-shaped motif on the front, as the DeLorean Motor Company has announced. The developers did not give any further details. It is therefore unclear whether the vehicle – like the cult car of the time – will have an unpainted steel body. A tweet published in February used, among other things, the hashtag “Luxury”, which indicates that the electric car will be designed for luxury.
Vehicle presentation in August
What the electric model will look like and what properties it will have is to be seen in the summer. The DeLorean is scheduled to be unveiled on August 21, 2022 at the Concept Lawn auto show in Pebble Beach. However, the premiere of the concept vehicle is scheduled to take place on August 18th on the Awards Ramp at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
“Excitement mounts like the doors of our iconic sports car, and we’re unveiling the next-generation prototype three days ahead of schedule on the most prestigious stage in Pebble Beach,” said Troy Beetz, CMO of DeLorean Motor Company Inc. Then comes the official name of the new electric car to be announced.
DeLorean is breaking new ground with an electric car
The DeLorean Motor Company was founded in 1995 by British engineer Stephen Wynne and acquired the rights to the DeLorean brand in the same year. This was dissolved in 1982 after bankruptcy. Originally, the Texas-based DeLorean Motor Company wanted to service and restore DeLoreans. Then there were plans to build new DMC-12 cars with the parts they had taken over from the old company. However, there was never any vehicle production because a supplier for a suitable engine could not be found.
Models with an electric drive were also announced several times, but never delivered. Last year, the company then indicated the reintroduction of the cult car. The design house Italdesign, whose founder was responsible for the design of the angular stainless steel body of the DeLorean and now belongs to Audi AG, showed a similar teaser image and recently also gave a preview of the vehicle. This year, DeLorean Motor Company broke new ground with an electric vehicle. The company is working with Italdesign on the development of the new DeLorean.
Swell: PR Newswire, future zone, car, VDI News