Are you an oddball scientist on the cusp of discovering time travel? These days, you probably wouldn’t choose a DeLorean as your time machine because of how cliche it’d be. A Hummer, Saab, or basically any car from a defunct auto brand would suffice. But the DeLorean is still a solid choice, for obvious reasons. And now Back to the Future aficionados have another reason to celebrate: the DeLorean Motor Company might finally be allowed to start building new models.
The DeLorean Motor Company is something more than a spiritual successor to the company started by John DeLorean. In 1997, DeLorean Motor Company of Texas purchased the remaining inventory of factory parts and the right to distribute them. Those parts, and the world’s undying love for Robert Zemeckis’ magnum opus, have seemingly sustained the company’s business for over two decades now. Unsurprisingly, the company is dedicated to providing service for all the remaining examples of the DMC-12 models out there.
If everything went according to plan, the company would have already been building new models by now. The Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act of 2015 essentially cleared the way for smaller automakers to build new versions of older cars. Unfortunately, the various executive agencies tasked with codifying the act into law never fulfilled their legal mandate. As a result, the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association, aka SEMA, sued the federal government, and it appears the litigation may have finally motivated the two agencies to act. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have both completed drafts for the new rules and are set to move the process forward. At this point, the only thing stopping the drafts from becoming finalized is the lack of leadership at NHTSA, which has not had an administrator since early 2017.
If the drafts become law, the new DMC-12 will be updated with modern equipment. They’ll basically be restomods right from the factory. With the new law, low volume automakers are exempt from complying with crash safety standards. But they will have to equip their vehicles with emissions compliant powertrains that have already been certified by the EPA. For the DeLorean, Autoblog detailed the company’s original intention to outfit the new models with a 3.5 liter V6, which is no longer possible because that particular engine is slated for retirement. That sure sounds like the company planned on buying a crate version of Ford’s 3.5 liter V6. The last vehicles to use that engine were the D3 and D4 models produced at Chicago Assembly. Instead, the company is flirting with an engine of unknown displacement that puts out about 350 horsepower. Ford’s 2.3 liter EcoBoost four cylinder almost fits that bill. In any event, it is highly unlikely that anyone will miss the original PRV 2.8 liter V6, which made an unimpressive 130 horsepower.
Powertrain aside, a number of creature comforts like upgraded headlights, bluetooth audio, and power steering are also expected to be equipped on the new models. Rumors of a standard flux capacitor are unconfirmed as of this writing. The DeLorean Motor Company believes the rules will be finalized sometime this year.
That’s heavy, Doc! 😉
This thing really needs the Chrysler 3.6 V6 – that engine in a car of this size and weight won’t need a flux capacitor.
If I had known about this effort I had forgotten about it. I suppose there would be worse cars to restart on a low volume basis.
There was a DMC-12 parked in the far back corner of a Cornell overflow lot near West Campus in the winter of 2000, and I used to hide my Daytona behind its thick mantle of never-brushed Finger Lake snow.
The car did not move all winter. I remember the pine needles and leaf litter that adhered to the stainless steel panels, and the very discernible smell of mold that wafted from the DeLorean.
And now they want to make more of them, for nostalgic people.
I hope the insurance policies are priced and adjusted properly.
And now they want to
Where’s the demand to reproduce these?! Originals are still very much readily available and not all too expensive.
A DMC-12 with a modern powertrain and a whole bunch of modern amenities sounds like it would appeal to a decent amount of people.
The same argument can be made of Revology Mustangs. There are plenty of originals still around for not very much money, but not with modern powertrains and amenities. Revology seems to be selling plenty of their six-figure 1966 Mustangs.
I wonder if it was possible for a large company (like Ford) to establish a smaller company that fits into that “Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act of 2015” and than build cool versions of their older cars, or other things like a DeLorean.
Shouldn’t this thing be able to fly by now, I mean, it’s 2020!
I hope they don’t use the original speedometer… I mean, come on! These will be no good if they can’t hit 88!
Delorean’s have always cried out for digital speedometers.
I was bitterly disappointed when I looked at the dash of the one in Ypsilanti!
Electric would be great, but perhaps they have to use a gas motor to satisfy the replica law. Either way, looking forward to seeing these!
All Back to the Future jokes aside, I imagine the price of a new DMC-12 will be in the stratosphere, sort of like that place that builds brand-new, first generation Mustangs with updated mechanicals and a ‘starting’ price of a cool $185k.
For that kind of coin, you’d really have to want one of these old cars very badly. Of course, the original Mustang from Bullitt sold for $3.4M…
I wish Ford would build 1st Gen Mustangs with updated mechanicals. “It’s 1965 again” would be a kinda cool ad campaign, wouldn’t it? With that original price adjusted for inflation ($2,368 in 1964 vs. $19,802.22 now) it would be very popular. Imagine a 65 with an Ecoboost 2.3 and a 5 speed!
Then GM and FCA would have to respond and we get proper looking Camaros and Challengers again
I recall there was a rumor that, supposedly, there was a time when Ford was considering doing exactly that. I’m going to guess it was the last pre-5mph bumper days since the original Mustang’s bumpers would never pass that regulation.
It’s the one car that I would be willing to bet there’s a sufficient market to warrant the effort, provided they can keep it close to the inflation-adjusted price.
That little side window within a window is never gonna cut it in today’s drive thru culture.
Go for a recon one for $65000 and save the rest to buy stronger struts that will take the weight of the doors Me thinks originals are worth more than resto mods.?
What with those gull wing doors, kids will mistake it for a new Tesla Model!.
These do come as close as any volume-produced car to the CyberTruck aesthetic.
“Factory RestoMods” is a good description of cars like these. I understand they’ll be fitted with airbag steering wheels and electronic driving aids (starting with ABS) that weren’t originally offered.
Indeed, a Tesla-powered and equipped DMC-12 would make for a very interesting ride. I can certainly see more than a few Tesla owners interested in such a car.
If the car hadn’t been the star of that Franchise, it would have vanished into obscurity like the Bricklin and DiNapolis and the various kit cars based off of Fieros and Cougars and Buick Regals. It wasn’t as powerful as the Bricklin nor as well made, and the Bricklin wasn’t well made.
It’s still an exciting car to look at and in today’s world of humdrum grey CUVs deserves a second life.
The new company must strictly adhere to the “Greater fool” theory, meaning you can always sell something for dumb money so long as there is one greater fool than you out in the market.
Based on that theory, the total production needs to be one less car than total demand. That means one buyer is left out in the cold, but demand (and asking price) remains solid.
Question being, how do you determine that production number? I’m betting they exceed it by a fair amount…
That’s the catch on these far-out ideas of bringing back an old ‘collectable’ car; anyone who wants one already has one. The bet is there are some kind of niche group that wants one, but only if it’s a reliable daily-driver. Unfortunately, I’m just not sure that’s a very large number of people, certainly not enough to justify the expense and trouble.
Of course, I’ll readily admit that I’d love to have a brand-new 1969 Dodge Super Bee with a modern, EFI drivetrain and braking system.
According to an article I read on Hagerty, production will be very low:
” Although the Low Volume Manufacturer law allows a company to make 325 cars per year, Espey says that this upcoming run of DeLoreans will be lower-volume than that—perhaps one or two per week.”
Interesting idea, but these will be so expensive as to be completely irrelevant. I also don’t miss the 80s enough to consider paying more than stick shift v8 mustang money for a movie prop throwback when the stick shift v8 mustang still exists.
I saw that thing for the fraud it was when it was new and I have not changed my mind. If you really had to have a sorted, rear engine sports car with that V6, Renault Alpine already made one over on the other side of the Channel. But hell, good luck to them, let us hope the venture provides work for the company’s employees longer than the original operation did.