For the DeLorean, it's back to the present

[csv8]

For the DeLorean, it's back to the present
The iconic gull-winged sports car is once again hot, and there are plans afoot to place it back in production.
By Martin Zimmerman, Times Staff Writer
July 28, 2007


Danny Botkin's love affair with the DeLorean got off to an unpromising start.

It was the early '80s and a teen-age Botkin was tagging along while his father shopped for a new car. A Ford dealer had a rear-engined, gull-winged DeLorean on display, and the flash of stainless steel automotive skin caught Danny's eye.

"I was smitten," Botkin, now 40, recalls. "I said, 'Hey Dad, let's get this.'

"He got a Bronco instead."

Botkin had to grow up and buy his dream car himself. He drives a restored DeLorean modeled after the one that served as a time machine in the 1980s blockbuster "Back to the Future."

He also manages a repair and refurbishing shop in Garden Grove that's affiliated with DeLorean Motor Co. (Texas), a suburban Houston company that rebuilds DeLoreans and is laying plans to bring the car back into limited production.

The last DeLorean rolled off the assembly line in Northern Ireland in 1982. But like Duran Duran, the Rubik's Cube and other Reagan-era icons, the car retains a following.

Of the 9,000 built in 1981 and 1982, about 6,500 are still on the road, according to James Espey, vice president of DeLorean Motor. Enthusiasts gather at clubs from Cleveland to Norway. An event next week at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park is expected to attract more than a hundred DeLoreans.

"People of all ages are interested in this car," says Espey, a San Diego native. "Kids who can't tell you what a Camaro is come through here on tours because they've seen 'Back to the Future.' "

From the start, the DeLorean seemed destined for cult status. Its gull-wing doors and rakish lines stood out in an auto market that was still living down the AMC Pacer. And the stainless steel exterior looked like it belonged on a jet fighter.

Then there was the man himself. John DeLorean had been a rising star at General Motors Corp. in the 1960s — he's credited with conceiving the GTO and the Firebird — when he decided to chuck it all and start his own car company. (He'd already shed the button-down GM lifestyle, opting for flashy clothes, styled hair and celebutante girlfriends.)

Despite his attention-grabbing persona and product, DeLorean couldn't sell enough of the $25,000 cars to stay afloat. By 1982, his company was in receivership. He hit rock bottom that year when he was busted on charges of cocaine trafficking. He was acquitted, but the ordeal in effect ended his business career. He died in March 2005.

DeLorean's car would live on, thanks primarily to "Back to the Future," the top-grossing film of 1985. Ditching their original idea of using an old refrigerator as a time machine, the scriptwriters opted for a modified DeLorean because of its futuristic look, particularly the doors, according to co-writer Bob Gale.

The movie made Michael J. Fox a star — and launched the DeLorean pop cult.

"John DeLorean wrote us a fan letter after the movie came out: 'Thank you for keeping my dream alive,' " Gale recalls. "Probably half of the people who own DeLoreans today own them because they saw 'Back to the Future.' "

The enduring appeal of the car keeps Espey's Texas shop and its affiliates busy.

Espey's company acquired the parts and engines that were left over after DeLorean's company went belly up; it also owns the trademarks and many of the engineering drawings.

Espey's 20-person operation handles a dozen or so rebuilds a year and has an eight-month waiting list. (Buying and restoring a used DeLorean will cost you about $25,000; they'll strip one to the frame and completely rebuild it for a base price of $42,500.)

At DeLorean Motor Co. (California) in Garden Grove, there are 15 cars in for service or refurbishing at any given time, Botkin says.

With 200 of the original 2.8-liter V-6 engines still in stock and facing a dwindling supply of cars suitable for rebuilding, Espey figures that within a year or so they'll start making the cars from scratch.

Their manufacturing plans are modest — maybe 20 or so cars a year. But it would be quite a comeback for a car that was given up for dead more than a quarter of a century ago.

And based on the reaction Botkin gets when he takes his "BTTF" DeLorean out for a spin, there's a market out there.

"I can't park it without attracting a pile of people," he says. "We like to cruise up and down PCH just to get people's reactions.

"It's a smile maker."


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[kpcart]

the fdelorean was awesome, all except for the crappy engine choise, volvo 2.8v6 (which was a joint delelopment engine for peugeot? i forget). they should have gone for the 2.3turbo 4 cyl if they had to go with a volvo engine, more power, more reliable etc and just plain better. in the movie version car it sounded like it was fitted with a v8?

[Riksta]

Originally Posted by kpcart

in the movie version car it sounded like it was fitted with a v8?

Nah, was fitted with a Mr Fusion & Flux Capacitor :P

[Mongoose]

Originally Posted by Riksta

Nah, was fitted with a Mr Fusion & Flux Capacitor :P

gotta admit though, for a car that runs on rubbish (quite literally) it goes pretty hard

[chevypower]

I am told the standard DeLorean DMC 12s sound just like the one in the movie. With it's original 2.8L V6

[asusdragon]

hmm might be about ntime for another loan i would love to own one of these cars

[XR Martin]

In the movie the V8 engine noise was dubbed over the standard engine.

[the_scotsman]

My old man did some work for a bloke over in Scotland who was RICH!

He owned amongst other things, a Lambo Countach (the sexiest car in the world!), Ferrari Testarossa (the widest car in the world!), 2 68' Mustangs (that had the best sounding engines in the world), De Tomaso Pantera, a limo that used to belong to Rod Stwewart and a DELOREAN!

The Delorean is a MUCH better car than it looks...and yes, it does sound quite like the movie...even if it was dubbed...it sounds really mean for a V6. The driving position is incredibly low, like a sports car, but is very comfortable with its leather seats.

I've always loved the Delorean, it's one sexy car!

Always wanted one of these as a kid, still do deep down.

Does it come stock with the flux capacitor or do you have to go after market for it?

[Rev28K]

Is the Danny Botkin’s “Back to the Future” replica the one that was tested in Car & Driver recently (along with the S&H Torino, Mad Max Interceptor, 60’s Batmobile and John Schneider’s General Lee replica)?

The DeLorean V6 was only a PRV (Peugeot, Renault, Volvo) 90 degree V6 wasn’t it? 2.8-3.0 litre capacity. I think that the hottest versions were the twin Turbo’s in the Renault Alpine Le Mans.

[Neeek]

There are several upgrades that you can do to the DeLorean - one popular mod is a twin-turbo kit. One guy in the US called Dave Stragand dedicated a website to the rebuild (and upgrade) of his: http://www.projectvixen.com/ (WARNING - get a thermos full of coffee if you want to wade through it all - exhaustive doesn't come close to the level of detail he goes to!)

And there's another DeLorean somewhere in the US that's been fitted with a Cadillac Northstar V8.

Yes, I am a closet-DeLorean fan... almost did a VERY foolish thing back in 2001 and came very close to buying one from a bloke in Sydney..!!!

[Riksta]

One of the original Gold-Plated Deloreans would be awesome.

I think there were only two made, with a third being completed after the company closure from bits left over that ended up being gold plated. Image of one is here - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi.../f8/Gold-D.jpg (I won't put the pic directly in thread purely because of size).

[BadMac]

If you want one, I know where one is for NZD $40k.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...584988.htm?p=2

[marcosambrose]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2vM2psKlvT0

[Yellow_Festiva]

I just saw one for sale last week on the net somewhere, was $60K. Wonder if they will be a 6 digit collector car in the future?

[XR Martin]

There was one that sold at an Auction in Sydney late last year for about $40k and it had only 15k miles. Still part of me thinks I should have taken the plunge and bid on it.

[chevypower]

I have never read anything to suggest the car in the movie was dubbed with a V8, toured Universal, seen all the Behind the Scenes stuff on the DVD, although Wikipedia says the actual car had a Porsche engine. But that doesn't even say they used the audio from the Porsche engine. Oh well even if it was original engine, the sounds would have been engineered in post production anyway.

[irsa76]

The PRV was developed with help of Porsche, but to call it a Porsche engine is a stretch. I've heard of at least was getting an LS1 transplant. Awesome car that had the makings of being a success.