HOUSTON: A Texas-based company is taking orders for a re-engineered, new version of the sleek and silver DeLorean DMC-12 which shot to fame in the 1980s Back to the Future movies.
The iconic, stainless-steel body with distinctive butterfly doors still looks modern today. The new version will have a more powerful engine. The car carries a price tag of between 80,000 and 100,000 dollars.
One thing it will not have on board is a flux compensator, the fictional lightning-bolt-fuelled time machine installed by eccentric professor Emmett “Doc” Brown in the cult films.
Customers can register their interest in a new DeLorean on the company website without committing themselves to buy. When production gets under way, those on the list will get priority before the car goes on general sale.
The replica has been made possible by a change in US vehicle legislation which now exempts small-volume carmakers from the safety requirements required by big-volume manufacturers.
The DeLorean Motor Company, which repairs and maintains the original cars, said the replica is poised for production next year, with new running gear and uprated parts. Some 6,500 of the original 9,000 cars produced have survived.
“It’s fantastic! It is a game changer for us,” DeLorean CEO told the US TV channel NBC News. “We have been waiting for this to happen.”
Up to 300 editions of the car are planned, although production will get off to a leisurely start. DeLorean will make one car a month before stepping up output.
The original car was a bold project by former General Motors manager and entrepreneur John DeLorean, but it ended in receivership and bankruptcy.
The DMC-12 was only produced for two years from 1981 to 1983 at a custom-built factory in Northern Ireland. DeLorean died in 2000 aged 80.
Keyword: US firm taking orders for iconic DeLorean DMC-12 revival edition