It’s one of the most iconic cars ever put on film. Stainless steel bodywork, gullwing doors, and the promise of time travel at precisely 88 mph. But when it comes to real-world driving, the DeLorean isn’t exactly built for high-speed heroics. To find out whether the car could actually reach that legendary number, the team at TFLclassics took a pristine DMC-12 out to an airstrip with a very simple mission: hit 88 mph.And despite the optimism, the DeLorean didn’t make it on the first try. Or the second. It needed a rolling start, some extra tarmac, and a bit of patience to finally push past the threshold, topping out at 89 mph after running nearly a full runway. Not exactly time-travel magic. The DeLorean Struggled Hard Just To Do What The Movie Faked The test car was about as ideal as it gets: 18,000 miles, five-speed manual, and in perfect running condition. But even in this setup, the DeLorean’s numbers tell the story. The 2.85-liter PRV V6 under the hood made just 130 horsepower when new, and with long gearing and high elevation working against it, the car simply didn’t have the grunt to accelerate quickly. The first two runs ended with a top speed of 84 mph, which is respectable for a 1981 car, but still short of time travel territory.Only on the third attempt, with a head start and some cornering momentum, did the DeLorean finally reach 88, and even then, just barely. As the team points out, there isn’t a mall parking lot in the world where this would have worked. The idea that Marty McFly could hit that speed between JC Penney and RadioShack was pure movie fantasy. A Porsche 911 From The ’80s Reminded Everyone What Real Speed Looked Like TFLclassics YouTubeTo emphasize how far behind the DeLorean was in its own time, the team brought in a 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera for a side-by-side run. Like the DeLorean, it’s a six-cylinder, rear-engined, five-speed manual coupe from the same era. But that’s where the similarities end. With 217 horsepower and tighter gearing, the Porsche pulled off a 16.8-second quarter-mile, more than two seconds faster than the DeLorean’s best effort.Even more telling was how the Porsche felt: alert, quick, and confident. Meanwhile, the DeLorean felt like what it is: a beautiful, quirky, underpowered relic. Despite its futuristic looks and infamous price tag (around $25,000 in the early ’80s, or over $90K today when adjusted for inflation), it was never really a performance car. It was always about the design, the mystique, and, thanks to Back to the Future, the myth.And that’s the thing: the DeLorean is fun because of what it represents, not because of what it can do. It’s more at home in a movie scene than on a drag strip. So while the car did eventually hit 88 mph, it’s probably best to leave time travel to the movies.Source: TFLclassics