Great Scott! The DeLorean DMC-12 is coming back! [And a Back to the Future car is going up for auction, too.]
For a little awhile, the DeLorean DMC-12 was an automotive curiosity for two simple reasons: gull-wing doors and the criminal charges filed against DeLorean Motor Company founder John DeLorean, who was charged with [and eventually acquitted of] conspiring to smuggle $24 million worth of cocaine into the U.S. But then Marty McFly took one for a spin in Back to the Future, and it very suddenly became one of the most famous and instantly recognizable cars of all time.
That instant fame came too late to keep DeLorean’s car company from going kaput in 1982 but now it looks like deep-pocketed auto aficionados will have another crack at the famous machine. The reconstituted DMC, which was founded in 1995 and soon after acquired the rights to the brand and the car, has announced that a new, official, all-electric DMC-12 is slated to begin production in 2013.
Developed in conjunction with Epic EV, the DMC-12 is expected to bring 260 horsepower to the table, for a top speed of 125 MPH and a price tag in the neighborhood of $100,000. The gull-wing doors are expected to remain – they’re the signature feature, after all – but where the engine and battery pack will end up is anybody’s guess at this point.
And if you can’t wait until 2013 to get a new machine, you can take your shot at an old one in December when over 100 props from the Back to the Future franchise go up for auction. Clothing and hoverboards will be on the block but the real prize is the Back to the Future 3 DeLorean, one of only three [out of an original seven] that still survive. Adding to the uniqueness, this particular car is customized for off-road travel; it was made for the scene in which Marty ends up in 1885 and has to flee from a marauding band of Indians. Part of the proceeds from the auction will go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Sources: Autoblog, I Heart Chaos
