Sold 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 2146373590 Tweet

This 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 is a nicely preserved gullwing coupe that is ready to bring you Back to the Future! John DeLoreans namesake automobile is, like the man himself, a true icon across all generations. Younger folks might not be aware that Mr. DeLorean is considered the godfather of the American muscle car, when he and his team of engineers at the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors devised the Pontiac GTO. John Z. DeLoreans success at General Motors led to him climbing up GMs corporate ladder through the early 1970s where he wound up as the Vice President of the Domestic Car and Truck group. Perhaps bored in corporate America or feeling restricted, or maybe a little bit of both, DeLorean left General Motors to start his own company, the John Z. DeLorean Corporation and its subsidiary DeLorean Motor Company (DMC). DeLoreans goal in the new venture was to build a car with a useful life of more than just a few years. By July 1975, DMC had a non-running prototype and then got it running in October 1976, which was an awfully quick turnaround for a new automotive startup. However, these early successes would ultimately be hampered by numerous production issues that likely doomed the company as it moved into the future. The first production issue that plagued DeLorean was the inability to locate an adequate production facility to build the futuristic automobiles. To solve this, DeLorean made with the British Government in 1978 where the British Government gave the DeLorean Motor Company substantial tax breaks and millions of dollars worth of loans in exchange for building the DMC-12 in a Northern Ireland production factory in a move that was intended to generate jobs and economic growth for the impoverished residents of Belfast. The next major issue was sourcing an adequate engine and running gear for the DeLorean DMC-12. Eventually, DeLorean settled on a famously underpowered Peugeot-Renault-Volvo 2.85 Liter V6. Despite overcoming these early challenges and despite falsely promising to deliver cars by 1979, DeLorean still struggled to get his namesake car into production. Ultimately, the first DMC-12 cars were sold in 1981 and deliver in 1981. However, critics lamented the DMC-12 coupes underpowered drivetrains and idiosyncratic features and the cars were deemed a flop after merely 2 years of production. In the years that followed, the John Z. DeLorean Corporation and the DeLorean Motor Company underwent an incredibly spectacular downfall. The companies were placed in into receivership by the British Government and Mr. DeLorean was faced criminal charges for fraud and drug trafficking. While the charges against DeLorean were eventually dropped, he was never able to repeat his success at GM on his namesake ventures and elsewhere. Nonetheless, the DeLorean DMC-12 with its futuristic design, and with some help from American pop culture, would become an icon. Likely, the stainless steel gullwing coupe is most famous for its starring role in the Back to the Future movie franchise as the futuristic time-machine activated when the car reached 88 miles-per-hour. This particular DMC-12 comes to us from an east coast collector who owned the car for over 25 years. Powering this 81 DeLorean is a rear mounted 2.85 Liter V8 engine fed by a Bosch K-Jetronic Fuel Injection system that together were said to have created 130 horsepower when new. The 2.85L V6 is mated to an Automatic Transmission that makes this DMC-12 an easy car for just about anybody to drive. Being that this DeLorean is a late model collectible, it comes loaded with numerous creature comforts! With power steering, manuvering this gullwing coupe in and out of a tight parking space is a breeze, whether youre at the local car show or just stopping at the local ice cream parlor. With power disc brakes in all four wheels, bringing this 1981 DeLorean to a complete stop is also simplified. This 81 DeLorean rides on a set of raised letter radial