The DMC DeLorean – an unreliable and woefully underpowered 1980s sports car made famous by the Back to the Future movie franchise – could be resurrected with electric power.
New intellectual property filings reveal two updated logos have been registered for protection in the USA, while a website owned by the Texas-based owners of the DeLorean Motor Company marque is currently under construction.
The new designs – uncovered by the NewNissanZ blog, and shown in the gallery below – were lodged last week and are “currently awaiting examination.”
The first is a reworking of the original ‘DMC’ stylisation, while the second appears to reference the vehicle’s gullwing-styled doors.
DMC’s current owner last year suggested it was considering relaunching the iconic model with a zero-emission powertrain, however an update has not been provided since.
The newest developments do not explicitly confirm a new variant of the infamous car is under development, however suggest significant work is currently underway to revamp the brand for future product plans.
Drive has reached out for comment, and this story will be updated when more information becomes available.
The original DeLorean was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro – an Italian automotive icon who penned numerous cars for Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia and other manufacturers – in the late 1970s. Production took place in Northern Ireland between 1981 and 1983.
A rear-mounted 2.85-litre V6 engine sent just 97kW/207Nm to the road via a five-speed manual transmission or three-speed automatic, allowing the 0-100km/h sprint to be completed in a leisurely 8.6 second on the way to a top speed of 175km/h.
Just 9000 examples were ultimately built before the company went bankrupt in the mid-1980s.
The branding was eventually acquired by the current Texas-based owners in the 1990s.
Keyword: DMC DeLorean goes back to the future with electric comeback plans