New and Remanufactured DeLorean Sports Cars
By James Grahame
We've written hundreds of posts without once mentioning the delightfully different DeLorean DMC-12. Apart from the 'kitchen sink' stainless steel finish, its coolest feature is definitely the wonderfully smooth counterbalanced gull-wing doors. In fact, the first time a co-worker introduced me to his DeLorean, the first thing I did was repeatedly open and close the doors for a couple of minutes straight. It goes without saying that he didn't let me drive.
Once you get past the doors, the vehicle feels rather like a vintage kit car. It's low, the cockpit is snug but somehow accommodates even tall occupants, and the dashboard seems to have escaped from an early 1980s Chevy pickup truck. The 130 HP PRV V6 engine burbles with a tone more reminiscent of an old Pontiac Fiero than a Ferrari, and high-speed maneuvering is a tad less precise than the Lotus-designed suspension would suggest.
The company came to a tumultuous end in 1982, when founder John DeLorean was arrested and charged with drug trafficking. He was ultimately found not guilty, but by then it was far too late for the struggling auto manufacturer. It's thought that around 75% of the original 8,000+ cars built in Northern Ireland still exist today, and the unique style remains quite capable of turning heads.
Retro Thing reader Richard Van Luven pointed me to the DeLorean Motor Company (Texas). They're completely unrelated to the original DeLorean Motor Company and offer custom-built brand new DeLoreans starting at $57,500. The site also offers several slightly more affordable used DMC-12s selling in the $20,000 to $30,000 range.
DeLorean Motor Company (Texas)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Retro Thing: New and Remanufactured DeLorean Sports Cars
via retrothing.com
