- Its Proper name is the DMC-12
- The DMC-12 Was Built In Ireland
- It Should Have Been Faster
- It Is Deceptively Fragile
- It Was Known For Its Safety
- It’s More Expensive Than It Should Be
- There Are Only 6,000 DMC-12s In The World
- The DMC-12 Is A Failed Car
- Six DeLoreans Were Used In The Movies
- It Is Being Remade
The DeLorean is one of those automobiles that became iconic due to pop culture, specifically thanks to Universal Studios’ Back to the Future movie series.
However, before the car was turned into Dr. Emmett “Dok” Brown’s iconic time machine, the DeLorean was just a futuristic-looking car that may or may not have impressed a lot of people.
Here are ten things to know about the DeLorean before, during, and after its appearance on the big screen:
Its Proper name is the DMC-12
Most people know the car as the DeLorean thanks to the Back to the Future movies, but in truth, the DeLorean’s proper name is the DeLorean DMC-12.
The DMC-12, according to Hot Cars, is equipped with a 2.7-liter V6 engine and could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 8.8 seconds. It is the first and only car of the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), something we’ll know more further down in this article.
The DMC-12 Was Built In Ireland
The car was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which isn’t the friendliest of places back in the ’80s, according to Maxim. Back then, the region was plagued by sectarian violence, which prompted the British government to shell out $175 million to construct DMC’s factory.
The British government at the time hoped that the factory could provide the jobs the region needs to help calm the people there.
It Should Have Been Faster
The DMC-12 may be able to go from 0 to 60 mph in 8.8 seconds, but its V6 engine, which is the product of a Peugeot-Renault-Volvo venture, never delivered the performance promised by DMC founder john Z. DeLorean.
It Is Deceptively Fragile
Not only was the DMC-12 slow, but it was also fragile due to the car’s body being made of SS304 stainless steel, which is the same kind of metal used to make kegs and kitchen counters, according to Thrillist.
Thanks to DMC using stainless steel, dents, and crumbles are common among DMC-12 cars. The material also meant that DMC-12 owners had to use gasoline and a scouring pad to wash it.
However, this fragility is also an advantage in the event of a crash because…
It Was Known For Its Safety
Yes, despite the car’s fragility, the DMC-12 is a car known for keeping its passengers safe thanks to its great crash protection. You could even argue that the DMC-12 is the pioneering car that previewed many safety concepts commonly used today in car manufacturing, such as crumple zones.
Crumple zones are places in a car that are meant to collapse and absorb crash energy rather than passing it along to its passengers.
It’s More Expensive Than It Should Be
The “12” in the DMC-12’s name stands for the car’s planned price – $12,000. However, by the time the car was fully developed and ready for production, the price increased to $25,000, which is around $54,510 in today’s money, according to in2013dollars.
There Are Only 6,000 DMC-12s In The World
The DMC-12s are one of the rarer cars to see in the wild due to their limited numbers. Only 6,000 units of the car were ever produced by DMC due to low demand, and as such, any DMC-12 model is being “worshipped” by every car enthusiast.
The low demand is brought on by the next entry in our list.
The DMC-12 Is A Failed Car
DMC initially found a huge demand for its first car, convincing the company to manufacture at least 20,000 units annually. However, the car’s parts were of low quality, and the car itself was made by inexperienced workers from its Ireland factory, per a separate Hot Cars article.
These two factors led to the car being poorly made, with owners complaining that the car was always breaking down and that the parts that were broken needed to be replaced with the same low-quality parts.
The constant breaking down of the DMC-12 led to a significant drop in its demand, which eventually became irreversible, forcing DMC to permanently close its doors in 1982, per CNN.
Six DeLoreans Were Used In The Movies
According to Screen Rant, six DMC-12s were purchased to make the three Back to the Future movies. Three of the six were used during the first film, with one of them being torn apart to get interior angle shots while the movie’s main characters are inside the car.
The other three were used in the sequels, with one of them being destroyed by the train in the third movie, per DeLorean Rental.com.
It Is Being Remade
The DeLorean Alpha 5, the successor to the DMC-12
The DeLorean Motor Company was resurrected from the shadows by Liverpool-born mechanic Stephen Wynne, who was able to secure the defunct company’s trademark DMC logo along with the legacy of the company’s former founder, John DeLorean, per Future Car.
Wynne was able to acquire the remaining DMC-12 parts and managed to create 9,200 units out of them, per Popular Mechanics.
Today, the new DMC, which is headquartered in Humble, Texas, is creating a modernized, electric vehicle counterpart of the DMC-12, the DMC Alpha 5, while also servicing old DMC-12s that are still out there.
Keyword: 10 Things To Know About the DeLorean