История создания DeLorean DMC-12: от прототипов к серийному производству

1980s automobile

When details surrounding the DeLorean were first announced in the mid 1970s, there were numerous plans and rumors that the DeLorean would have many advanced features, such as elastic reservoir moulding (ERM), a unit construction plastic chassis, a mid engine layout, an airbag, 10 mph bumpers and ultrawide Pirelli P7 tires; none of these would materialize in the production vehicle. Originally, the car was intended to have a centrally mounted Wankel rotary engine. The engine selection was reconsidered when Comotor production ended and the favored engine became the Ford Cologne V6 engine. Appearing in October 1976, the first prototype was completed by American automotive chief engineer William T. Collins, formerly chief engineer at Pontiac. The prototype was initially known as the DSV 1, or DeLorean Safety Vehicle. As development continued, the model was referred to as the DSV 12, before changing to DMC 12, the "12" deriving from the target list price of $12,000 upon release. The Ford V6 engine would soon be abandoned in favor of the complete drivetrain from the Citroën CX 2000—deemed a more reliable choice. The I4 engine from Citroën was ultimately deemed underpowered for the DeLorean. When Citroën learned of DMC plans to turbocharge the engine, Citroën suggested that DMC find another engine. Eventually the fuel injected V6 PRV engine (Peugeot Renault Volvo) was selected. As a result, the engine location had to be moved from the mid engined location in Prototype 1 to a rear engined location in Prototype 2, a configuration which would be retained in the production vehicle. The chassis was initially planned to use elastic reservoir moulding (ERM), which would lighten the car and lower its production costs. DeLorean had purchased patent rights to the essentially untested ERM technology, and it was eventually found unsuitable. Prototype 1's interior was significantly different from the production vehicle's. Prototype 1 had a prominent full width knee bar, as it was intended to be a safety car. A medium brown leather covered the seats, but they were much flatter and did not have the comfort and support of the production seats. A black steering wheel with a fat center was intended to hold an airbag and the driver had a full set of Stewart Warner gauges. A central warning system would check various fluid levels and even warn of low brake pad thickness though, even at this time, it was suspected that production cars would not have this feature. These and other changes to the original concept led to considerable schedule pressures. The design was deemed to require almost complete re engineering, which was turned over to English engineer Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars. Chapman replaced most of the unproven material and manufacturing techniques with those then employed by Lotus, including a steel backbone chassis. In order to train the workforce, a small number of pre production DeLoreans were produced with fiberglass bodies and are referred to as "black cars" or mules. After several delays and cost overruns, production at the Dunmurry factory, located a few miles from Belfast City Centre, finally began in late 1980. DMC changed the name DMC 12 on its now $25,000 car in favor of the model name DeLorean. The DeLorean sports car, as it was described in advertisements, began production in December 1980 with the first production car rolling off the assembly line on January 21, 1981 just a few days after the arrest of its founder, John DeLorean, on drug trafficking charges. Consolidated International purchased the unsold DeLoreans and partially completed DeLoreans still on the assembly line and assembled approximately 100 cars to finish the remaining production on December 24, 1982. and in February of that year, DMC was placed into receivership. In February 1982, unsold 1981 model year cars were "priced for immediate clearance" in hopes to make room for the more expensive 1982 model year cars. In March, telegrams were sent to all 343 dealerships requesting each buy six cars to help save the company; none of the dealers responded with a sales order. By this point, dealers were sitting on unsold inventory as were the quality assurance centers and hundreds more sitting on the docks in Long Beach, California. By the end of May 1982, production at the factory was shut down. Another attempt in July 1982 was made to revive sales by offering discounts to dealerships and offering a 5 year/50000 mile (80467 km) warranty with the first year or 12000 mile (19312 km) portion secured by a major insurance carrier but this was not successful. Bruce McWilliams, VP of Marketing for DMC and later acting President for DMC America, after resigning his position said, "The car could never be sold in the numbers John DeLorean predicted".

Production information was lost or scattered upon the shutdown of DMC and production figures for the DeLorean were never verified based on official factory records. Owners have been able to piece together the approximate quantity of DeLoreans produced from VIN information, despite some unexplained VIN gaps. and except for three cars plated in 24 karat gold, all DeLoreans left the factory uncovered by paint or clearcoat. Painted DeLoreans do exist, although these were all painted after the cars were purchased from the factory. The stainless steel panels are fixed to a fiberglass underbody. The underbody is affixed to a steel backbone chassis with Y frames at either end, derived from the Lotus Esprit platform. Another distinctive feature of the DeLorean is its gull wing doors. The DeLorean features heavy doors supported by cryogenically preset torsion bars and nitrogen charged struts. These torsion bars and struts were developed by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace.

The DeLorean's engine is a SOHC Peugeot Renault Volvo (PRV) V6 engine. The U. S. federally–tuned, catalyst equipped DeLorean engine is rated at at 5,500 rpm and torque of at 2,750 rpm. These PRVs were a development of the 2.7 litre V6 used in the Renault 30 that were designed and built under special contract with the DeLorean Motor Company. This engine has a 90 degree layout with a light alloy block with cast iron cylinder liners and light alloy heads with cross flow hemi chambers. The engine has a bore and stroke, a compression ratio of 8.8:1 and was fitted with a Bosch K Jetronic fuel injection system. Some people have cited a last minute change in US bumper height requirements led DMC to raise the vehicle just prior to delivery; however, this is not true. Design drawings show that the design met NHTSA minimum bumper and headlight heights of the time. Steering is rack and pinion, with an overall steering ratio of 14.9:1, giving 2.65 turns lock to lock and a 35 feet (11 m) curb to curb turning circle. DeLoreans are equipped with cast alloy wheels, that are staggered in dimension, matching the car's wedge shape, measuring in diameter by wide on the front and in diameter by wide on the rear. These were fitted with 195/60 14 (front) and 235/60 15 (rear) Goodyear NCT steel belted radial tires. The DeLorean is a rear engine vehicle with a 35%–65% front–rear weight distribution. In his book Naff Motors: 101 Automotive Lemons, Tony Davis described the build quality as "woeful". Top Gear writer Richard Porter included it in his book Crap Cars, calling it "dismal".

DMC's comparison literature noted that the DeLorean could achieve in 8.8 seconds when equipped with a manual transmission, but other sources indicate an acceleration time of 9.5 seconds.

DeLoreans, early production models in particular, suffered from poor build quality as well as mechanical issues. Early production cars needed as much as 200 hours of work at DMC Quality Assurance Centers prior to being shipped to dealerships for delivery. A total of four recalls were issued by the factory to correct problems such as a sticking throttle, front suspension issues and an inertia switch. Other quality issues included additional problems surrounding the front suspension, clutch pedal adjustment (or lack thereof), brake rotors, instruments, in particular the speedometer, power door locks and weak alternators. Many early DeLoreans were delivered poorly aligned, with the toe in incorrectly set, leading to premature tire wear. In addition, many dealers were reluctant to perform warranty work on DeLoreans, since DMC owed them money for past warranty claims. Some dealerships were not able to perform repair work properly, as DMC never issued a proper service manual. The lack of quality service at dealerships was a point of frustration for many DeLorean owners at the time, particularly those who paid over sticker price to purchase one of the first cars.

Upon release in 1981, a DeLorean had a base MSRP of $25,000, or 25000.0 in 1981 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years. MSRP increased in 1982 to $29,825, 29825.0 in 1982 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years, and again in 1983 to $34,000, 34000.0 in 1983 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years.

A 3 speed automatic transmission, priced at $650 MSRP, was the only extra cost factory option. Interior color choices were grey or black. The grey interior became available mid 1981 model year. The standard feature list included stainless steel body panels, gull wing doors with cryogenically treated torsion bars, 5 speed manual transmission, Bridge of Weir leather seats, air conditioning, AM/FM cassette stereo system, power windows, locks and mirrors, a tilt and telescopic steering wheel, tinted glass, body side moldings, intermittent windshield wipers, and electric rear window defogger. Several dealer options were available, including a car cover, sheepskin seat covers, floor mats, car care cleaning kit, black textured accent stripes, grey scotch cal accent stripes, a luggage rack and a ski rack adapter.

Although there were no typical yearly updates to the DeLorean, several changes were made to the DeLorean during production.

Closing the gull wing door from the inside can be achieved by using a grab handle. For people with shorter arms, DMC installed leather pull straps attached to the grab handle. Beginning with late model 1981 cars, DMC revised the location of the leather pull strap to be centrally mounted and integrated into the lower door panel. The rear trim panel has an armrest extension that is visibly two separate pieces on early 1981 models; this armrest has a tendency to break loose as people get in and out of the vehicle. In late 1981, this was resolved by having the armrest extension integrated into the rear trim panel, the assembly wrapped in vacuum formed vinyl. Although the styling of the DeLorean's wheels remained unchanged, the wheels of early 1981 models were painted grey. These wheels sported matching grey center caps with an embossed DMC logo. Early into the 1981 production run, these were changed to a polished silver look, with a contrasting black center cap. The embossed logo on the center caps was painted silver to add contrast. In 1981, the DeLorean came with a Craig AM/FM stereo radio with cassette. Since the Craig radio did not have a built in clock, one was installed in front of the gear shift on the console. The Craig radio was replaced with an ASI radio in the middle of the 1982 production run. Since the ASI radio featured an on board clock, the clock on the console was removed at the same time. The first 2,200 cars produced used a windshield embedded antenna. This type of antenna proved to be unsuitable with poor radio reception. Oftentimes the radio would continually "seek", attempting to find a signal. A standard whip antenna, which was later changed to a manually retractable antenna, was added to the outside of the front right fender. Despite improving radio reception, this resulted in a hole in the stainless steel, and an unsightly antenna. As a result, the antenna was again moved. The final antenna was an automatic retractable version installed under the rear induction grill behind the rear driver's side window. The small sun visors on the DeLorean have vinyl on one side and headliner fabric on the other side. Originally these were installed such that the headliner side would be on the bottom when not in use. Later on in 1981, they were reversed so that the vinyl side would be on the bottom. The original 80 amp Ducellier alternator supplied with the early production DeLoreans could not provide enough current to supply the car when all lights and electrical options were on; as a result, the battery would gradually discharge, leaving the driver stranded on the road. This happened to DeLorean owner Johnny Carson shortly after he was presented with the vehicle. Beginning with cars built in late 1981, DeLoreans were fitted from the factory with a 90 amp Motorola alternator, which solved this problem.

In March 1975, DMC entered into a contract with Italdesign to have Giorgetto Giugiaro design the DeLorean sports car. John DeLorean and Bill Collins approved one of the many designs, and the styling mock up that was made from "epo wood" (wooden framework with a special epoxy plaster) was shipped to the DMC office in Michigan on July 31, 1975. This mock up served as the template for the prototype. The original full size epo wood DeLorean styling model was modified in the first quarter 1979 to reflect the refreshed design used in production. The mock up was donated to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, in Cultra, County Down (Northern Ireland), where it is now on display. The car remained in a private collection until 2005 when it was sold, received a complete restoration and is now on display at the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Prototype 2 was sent to Lotus Cars for development and evaluation in 1978. It was reported to have been destroyed in the 1990s. An estimated 28 pilot cars were built. The pilot cars are best identified by the subtly different interiors and sliding side windows. These cars, used for evaluation and regulatory testing of the DeLorean were previously thought to have been destroyed. However, a few of the pilot cars have survived and are owned by private parties.

With the 1980 NADA meeting approaching, DMC planned to show a final production version of the DeLorean; however, there were no production cars ready at the time or even any production stainless steel panels. Earlier, in summer 1979, the revised Giugiaro styling mock up was shipped to Visioneering, a Detroit based company, to create data needed to make the stamping dies for the stainless panels. This project expanded to create dies used to create a "production" car for the NADA show. Using a prototype chassis supplied by Lotus in late 1979, Visioneering completed the assembly of this car at a cost of $750,000. The car was presented at the 1980 NADA show and was later used for engineering development and technical training as well as press photos. The Visioneering car eventually was sold at the bankruptcy auction in late 1984 for $21,000.

It was determined that the DeLorean needed additional power when automotive magazine road tests showed times for the DeLorean between 9.5 and 10.5 seconds, while its rivals were in the 7.5–8.5 seconds range. There had been interest in turbocharging the DeLorean early on, but the DMC engineering staff was busy with other projects, so DMC decided to go outside to develop a turbocharged version. DMC entered into a contract with Legend Industries, based in Hauppauge, New York, a firm having previous success with turbocharging Fiat Spiders for Fiat USA. DMC wanted to increase power without sacrificing fuel efficiency. DMC wanted a wide power band and did not want a surge of power similar to the Porsche 930 Turbo. Legend used twin IHI RHB52 turbos along with twin intercoolers. The results were an engine capable of accelerating smoothly in fifth gear from 1,500 rpm to full turbo boost at 2,500 rpm, reaching at 6,500 rpm. In a test run at Bridgehampton Raceway in 1981, the twin turbo DeLorean was quicker than a Ferrari 308 and a Porsche 928.

For Christmas 1980, a DeLorean/American Express promotion planned to sell 100 24K gold plated DeLoreans for US$85,000 each to its gold card members, but only two were sold. The first gold plated American Express DeLorean was purchased by Sherwood Marshall, an entrepreneur and former Royal Canadian Naval Officer. This car, VIN 4300, is equipped with a manual transmission and a saddle brown interior. Marshall donated his DeLorean to the William F. Harrah Foundation/National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada. The second gold plated DeLorean was purchased by Roger Mize, president of Snyder National Bank in Snyder, Texas. This car, VIN 4301, equipped with an automatic transmission and black interior, sat in the bank lobby for over 20 years before being loaned to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. A third gold plated car was assembled with spare parts that were required by American Express in case one of the other two that were built was damaged. All necessary gold plated parts were on hand, with the exception of one door that was sourced later. The car was first acquired by the winner of a Big Lots store raffle. This car, VIN 20105, is in a private collection.

DeLoreans were primarily intended for the American market. All production models were therefore left hand drive. DMC was aware as early as April 1981 of the need to produce a right hand drive (RHD) version to supply to world markets, specifically the United Kingdom. DMC faced the choice of building right hand drive models from scratch or performing a post production conversion. Given the cost of new body molds, tooling, and a host of specific parts that a factory built right hand drive configuration would require, the company opted to investigate the idea of a post production conversion using Wooler Hodec, an English company based in Andover, Hampshire. About 30 early DeLoreans were shipped to Wooler Hodec and the best 20 were to be converted to RHD. However, only 13 were completed before DMCL went into receivership which subsequently led to the closure of Wooler Hodec. Three other factory authorized RHD cars were built. Known as AXI cars, these cars were registered and used by the factory in Northern Ireland, with registration numbers (license plates), AXI 1697, AXI 1698, AXI 1699 and have minor differences from the Wooler Hodec cars. After the liquidation of DMC, many of the factory company cars were sold at various auctions around the UK, some of which were converted by former Wooler Hodec employees and DMCL engineers to RHD resulting in eight known post factory RHD conversions.

The DMC DeLorean is most notably featured as the time machine in the Back to the Future film trilogy. Six DeLoreans were used during the production, along with one manufactured out of fiberglass for scenes where a full size DeLorean was needed to "fly" on screen. The cars used in the first film had the original V6 engine (whose sound in the movie comes from the V8 engine of a Porsche 928). Only three of the cars still exist, The third car, used in Back to the Future Part III, was restored and was sold at auction for $541,200 in December 2011. A fully restored Back to the Future DeLorean can be viewed at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

In 1995, Stephen Wynne, a British car mechanic from Liverpool, created a separate company, DMC Texas, based in the northern Houston suburb Humble, Texas, using the DeLorean Motor Company name. Wynne acquired the trademark on the stylized DMC logo, along with the remaining parts inventory of the original DeLorean Motor Company. After the passage of the Low Volume Vehicle Manufacturing Act, DMC Texas announced that it planned to produce replica DeLoreans. However, due to delays by the NHTSA in ratifying the act, the plan was canceled. There has been discussion about DMC Texas building an upgraded version of the original DeLorean to mark the 40th anniversary, but no details have been released.