Best Muscle Cars
DeLorean Set to Remake the Iconic ‘Back To The Future’ DMC
By Dave Ashton
Rumors and whispers have been floating around for years about a possible new/remake/reimagining of the iconic DeLorean. The car was initially made famous for starring in the ‘Back to the Future’ movie trilogy. The three surviving cars from the movie, being owned by Universal Studios and the Petersen Automotive Museum.
Checking out the DeLorean Wikipedia page states that DMC Texas have had the idea since 2007 for a remake, but with legal wranglings and setbacks, it’s only now with regulation changes that a modern interpretation can be made. Quite a gap in time considering the last official versions were produced in 1982.
Interestingly, a limited run of vehicles was expected to be released in 2017, but the Wikipedia page says production is projected to start in 2021. For the life of me, I cannot find any indications of a production date on either of the DeLorean websites(more on that below…)
The new regulations allow low-volume automakers to produce up to 325 vehicles each year that resemble production cars manufactured over 25 years ago. All vehicles must adhere to the Clean Air Act standards as per the year they were produced. In essence, the low volume of vehicles are allowed if engines and emissions equipment are used from another automaker, e.g. GM, Ford.
In a statement to Hagerty, Vice President of DMC Texas, James Espey, stated the company were gearing up to produce the vehicle once again, with a new version of the original design.
The New Design
As for body reworkings, engine specs., flux capacitor designs and such, the official websites don’t give anything away. The only hints to a possible design come from the video below produced at the end of 2016. From which you can see a screenshot at the top of the page. The video shows a flattened car design with gull wing doors and a healthy amount of glass fiber and brushed stainless steel.
If the rendering is anything to go off, the design looks more like a Lamborghini Countach, which themselves are horrendous to see out of the back of, along with being a tight squeeze for anybody who is over a regular size. Which means the rendering can only be taken as a possible interpretation of things to come.
At the time of writing, trawling through the DeLorean website, there is mention of how the new legislation will allow limited production runs of the vehicle, but nothing concrete about a new design – images or specifications. There are sections on the website for buying parts, servicing and restorations, but no sign of the new vehicle.
There also seems to be another DeLorean website, ‘newDeLorean.com‘ which shows a preview video of the old vehicle, with the blog section only mentioning the new regulations. Thus, it’s down to speculation at this point of how the new vehicle will turn out. If the Wikipedia production date is correct, then it may simply be early days before anything solid is released.
If a possible 325 vehicles can be produced by the company each year, they are bound to be fans of the original car and the movie franchise, who will be most interested. As for the purist muscle car fan, the John DeLorean connection is the most fascinating, being one of the originators of the classic Pontiac GTO. The original DMC had more European influences than anything else. A 2.85 L (2,849 cc) V6 engine produced by Peugeot-Renault-Volvo with 130 hp and a five-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission by the same company. With a manual transmission, performance figures came in at 0–60mph in 8.8 seconds, with the automatic transmission taking 10.5 seconds and a top speed of 109mph.
Still, performance figures don’t really count when you’re talking about such an iconic and recognizable vehicle. We just hope that this new DeLorean will be the most advanced and high-tech vehicle around. If it can run off items found in the trash, just like the end of the first movie, all the better.
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