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DeLorean DMC-12
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What is the DeLorean DMC-12?
The DeLorean DMC-12 is a sports car known for its gull-wing doors and stainless-steel body panels. Produced from 1981 to 1983, approximately 9,000 automobiles were sold. The DMC-12 was underpowered and overpriced, which led to financial problems for the DeLorean Motor Company. The company went bankrupt in 1982, resulting in significant job losses and investment setbacks. Despite its short production run and commercial challenges, the DMC-12 gained popularity due to its appearance in the Back to the Future film trilogy. As of 2023, about 6,000 DMC-12s still exist, supported by a parts industry.
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Who designed and made the DeLorean DMC-12?
The DeLorean DMC-12, a sports car known for its gull-wing doors and stainless-steel body, was produced from 1981 to 1983. John Zachary DeLorean, who previously developed the Pontiac Firebird and GTO muscle cars, founded the DeLorean Motor Company in 1975 to develop the DMC-12 for the U.S. market, basing its design on a Porsche model that never went into production. Manufacturing was outsourced to a plant built near Lisburn, Northern Ireland. Despite favorable reviews, the car's quality-control issues, underpowered engine, and high price led to faltering sales and the company's bankruptcy in 1982.
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What are some unique features of the DeLorean DMC-12?
The DeLorean DMC-12, manufactured from 1981 to 1983, is known for its gull-wing doors and stainless-steel body panels. The exterior was revolutionary, though its finish showed every mark and was difficult to paint, meaning every car looked identical.
Despite positive reviews from the automotive press, the DMC-12 was underpowered and overpriced compared to its competitors. The original plan was to sell the DMC-12 for $12,000 (hence the 12 in its name), but the actual price was more than twice that. About 9,000 automobiles in the DMC-12 line were sold; about 6,000 were extant in 2023.
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Why did the DeLorean DMC-12 have stainless steel body panels?
The DeLorean DMC-12 was produced from 1981 to 1983 and featured innovative gull-wing doors and stainless steel body panels.
Every DMC-12 leaving the factory looked identical because its revolutionary stainless-steel exterior showed every mark and fingerprint and was hard to paint successfully. The image-conscious American consumers were displeased because their sporty purchase was supposed to underline their individuality.
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How did the DeLorean DMC-12 become famous in popular culture?
The DeLorean DMC-12 gained considerable fame in popular culture due to its role in the Back to the Future film trilogy (1985–90). The first movie appeared just two years after the car's production ended.
The DMC-12 was an innovative sports car produced from 1981 to 1983, featuring gull-wing doors and stainless-steel body panels. About 9,000 automobiles in the DMC-12 line were sold; about 6,000 were extant in 2023, supported by a thriving aftermarket parts industry.
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What were some reasons production of the DeLorean DMC-12 ended so quickly?
Production of the DeLorean DMC-12 ended quickly due to a combination of commercial and economic factors. Although John DeLorean had intended to sell the car for $12,000, economic realities forced him to price it at more than twice that amount. The workforce was inexperienced, resulting in quality-control issues. The car was underpowered and overpriced compared to its competition. The stainless-steel exterior was hard to paint and showed every mark, displeasing image-conscious consumers. Sales soon faltered, and financial problems ensued, leading to the company's bankruptcy in 1982.
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DeLorean DMC-12, an innovative sports car, produced from 1981 to 1983, with gull-wing doors and stainless-steel body panels. It should have been the commercial coup of the century, leading to massive worldwide sales, but interest waned sharply in just a couple of years.
The cause for the failure of the DMC-12 was largely commercial. Although skilled entrepreneur John Zachary DeLorean had honed his engineering and management skills in the cut-throat world of American auto manufacture, notably when developing the iconic Pontiac Firebird and GTO “muscle cars.” When his employer, General Motors, showed reluctance to finance the successor, he founded the DeLorean Motor Company in 1975 and, basing his design on a Porsche that never went into production, developed the futuristic DMC-12 for the U.S. market.
In an early move towards the manufacturing outsourcing that would later become commonplace, DeLorean shopped around for the best start-up deal. He was about to sign with Puerto Rico when a better offer arrived from a British government desperate to stimulate the stagnating economy of Northern Ireland to help reduce rising sectarian tension. A huge manufacturing plant was built near Lisburn, with a projected capacity of 30,000 automobiles yearly, and the first DMC-12 rolled off the line early in 1981. But the workforce was inexperienced, resulting in quality-control issues. The car looked good, but at 130 hp and a 10 second gap between 0 and 60 mph, it was underpowered and overpriced compared with its competition. The DMC-12’s revolutionary stainless-steel exterior showed every mark from a fingerprint upwards and was hard to paint successfully. So every car leaving the factory looked identical, displeasing image-conscious American consumers whose sporty purchase was supposed to underline their individuality. Even so, the automotive press of the day was largely favourable, with a Car and Driver review saying that the DMC-12 was “fun to drive.”
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DeLorean had originally planned to sell the DMC-12 for $12,000 (thus the 12 in its name), but economic reality forced him to price the car at more than twice that, about $88,000 in 2023 dollars. Sales soon faltered, and financial problems ensued. The British government refused to mount a rescue unless matching funds were forthcoming. John DeLorean failed to attract other investors and—despite proclaiming that it was a viable business with money in the bank and a healthy order book—his company went bankrupt in 1982. Some 2,500 jobs were lost, along with more than $100 million in investments. While trying to bankroll his failing company through the sale of cocaine, DeLorean was arrested in a government-sting operation in October 1982. The arresting agents, however, were found guilty of entrapment, and DeLorean was acquitted in 1984. When then asked if he planned to return to the car industry, DeLorean famously quipped, “Would you buy a used car from me?”
About 9,000 automobiles in the DMC-12 line were sold; about 6,000 were extant in 2023, supported by a thriving aftermarket parts industry. In 2016, a revived DeLorean Motor Company announced plans to revive the DMC-12, but nothing came of it. The first-year run of the DeLorean has become a highly sought collector’s item, for it gained considerable cachet for its role in the blockbusting Back to the Future film trilogy (1985–90), whose first installment appeared two years after the last DMC-12 was produced..