DeLorean is planning a comeback by developing a new electric sports car, which will be unveiled at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on August 21.
The following DeLorean teaser video was previously released on Twitter and YouTube to announce the EV, which the company is developing with Italdesign – the styling house that created the original DMC-12.
Troy Beetz, DeLorean marketing boss, said: “We are very excited about the next evolution of the DeLorean brand being represented by our storied partnership with Italdesign and a vehicle that showcases our vision for the future.”.
Yet to be confirmed is whether it’ll be a completely new model or just a conversion kit to electrify the classic DMC-12. The new model has the same windscreen shape, long bonnet, and gullwing doors as the silver screen icon in the teaser video. The prototype appears to have the same brushed stainless steel body as its elder relative.
However, DeLorean has changed a couple of things – notably the front end. It looks like there’s a slightly different grille and a new badge that runs the car’s full width. The headlights seem to have been swapped for narrower units to make space for the new grille.
The biggest change is set to be the powertrain. The original car was powered by a 2.8-litre V6 engine, which developed 130bhp and 207Nm of torque. And, while the powertrain for this reborn model still hasn’t been confirmed, it’s all but certain to be electric – the company used the #ElectricVehicle hashtag in its Twitter announcement.
The original DeLorean DMC-12 found its fame in the 1980s sci-fi film franchise, Back to the Future. However, while the car became a big-screen legend, the company that built it faded into the annals of history, folding only a couple of years into the car’s production run after a spate of financial problems and production difficulties.
Thanks to Stephen Wynne, DeLorean (at least as a nameplate) recently found its feet again. In 1995, he bought up the rights, branding and remaining parts inventory for the firm and set up a new private company headquartered in Texas to support the existing network of owners with parts and service.
