New teaser video suggests DeLorean’s electric car will be an electrified version of the iconic DMC-12
DeLorean is making plans for a comeback this year. The niche sports car brand has been quietly beavering away in the background for quite some time now, making parts to keep its classic cars on the road – but now, the company is getting ready to launch a new car.
DeLorean released the below teaser video on Twitter, confirming it’ll launch a new electric vehicle later this year. However, whether it’ll be a completely new design or just a conversion kit to electrify the original DMC-12 is yet to be confirmed.
The vehicle in the brand’s teaser certainly looks like an original DMC-12. Even though the video is poorly lit, you can see the prototype has the same windscreen shape, long bonnet and gullwing doors as the silver screen icon. This prototype also appears to share the same brushed stainless steel bodywork as its elderly relative.
DeLorean has switched a couple of things up, though – namely the car’s front end. It looks like there’s a slightly different grille and a new badge which runs the full width of the car. The headlights seem to have been swapped for narrower units to make space for the new grille.
The biggest change is set to be the powertrain. The original car was powered by a rather breathless 2.8-litre V6 engine, which developed 130bhp and 207Nm of torque. And, while the powertrain for this reborn model still hasn’t been confirmed, it’s all but certain to be electric – the company used the #ElectricVehicle hashtag in its Twitter announcement.
The original DeLorean DMC-12 found its fame in the 1980s sci-fi film franchise, Back to the Future. However, while the car became a big-screen legend, the company that built it faded into the annals of history, folding only a couple of years into the car’s production run after a spate of financial problems and production difficulties.
DeLorean (at least as a nameplate) recently found its feet again thanks to Stephen Wynne. Back in 1995, he bought up the rights, branding and remaining parts inventory for the firm and set up a new private company headquartered in Texas with the aim of supporting the existing network of owners with parts and servicing.
Keyword: DeLorean plots a 2022 comeback with new electric car