Great Scott! It’s a New Delorean!

The Delorean was not a good car. It was badly designed and built, and underpowered, and only about 9000 were ever made. Yet, it has become a cult classic, so much so that the current owner of the rights to the DeLorean Motor Company, DMC Texas, announced it will be producing new DeLorean DMC-12 vehicles for the market.

The decision is possible thanks to a new law in the US of Americaland, called the Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act of 2015, which allows replica car manufacturers to sell more than just rolling chassis or kits, but also complete turn-key vehicles.

“It’s fantastic. It is a game-changer for us. We’ve been wanting this to happen,” DeLorean CEO, Stephen Wynne, said in a recent interview. “That was a green light to go back into production which previously was prohibited. It was against the law to do it.”

The new law does require the new cars to meet emission standards of the year that the car is built, which means the original Peugeot-Renault-Volvo (PRV) 2.85-liter V-6 will be replaced with a modern powertrain, which is of course good news for those of us who would like to get to 100kph in under three days.

Apparently DMC Texas hasn’t decided on what engine will be used for production, although there is a suitable candidate in the GM 6.2-litre LS3 V-8, which is already certified for use in low volume replica cars. The size of the engine bay in the DMC will likely keep the engine down to a V6 that can put out 300-400bhp, which may be a bit disappointing to V8 barmy Americans and only one engine is likely to be offered, due cost constraints.

Even the new DMC will be a limited product run, as the company has just enough supplies to build about 300-325 new replica 1982 DeLorean DMC-12 vehicles. Production will kickstart with the rate of one vehicle per month and Wynne hopes this will go up to one new car per week. After the limited run is completed, the company says it has enough spare parts to service the new and old cars built in the eighties. Of course there is also the issue of the tooling equipment wearing out and requiring replacement…

“There’s no reason to change the appearance of the car. As we go into the programme, we’ll decide what areas need to be freshened up,” Wynne said.

The car will have the same look, but would-be buyers don’t have to worry as it would feature all the creature comforts found in modern cars, such as heated and cooled seats, and navigation systems to replace the defunct cassette player. There could possibly be flashy exterior lighting, and 17 to 18” wheels and performance tyres as well.

Production is slated to start during the first quarter of 2017 and last for about five to six years. The new Delorean is likely to cost about US$100,000, which is not cheap for a flawed design, but apparently there are enough takers for the company to go ahead. All we can say is never underestimate nostalgia.