Gas? Where we’re going, we don’t need gas. DeLorean Motor Company, the short-lived 1980s automaker behind the DMC DeLorean sports car turned pop culture staple thanks to the Back to the Future franchise, is returning with an EV model. The DeLorean EV concept has just recently been teased, but its official reveal has now been moved up three days alongside an enticing teaser image.
April 7 Update: Following buzz around the internet regarding the possibility of an all-electric DeLorean, DMC’s CEO Joost de Vries revealed some tasty new tidbits of information during a recent interview on the Electrify News Podcast. Here are some new details we have learned from the thirty-minute interview:
- The new DeLorean EV concept will in fact feature gull-wing doors, but it will not feature a stainless steel body like the original DMC-12.
- There are no plans for the new DeLorean to appear in any sort of Back to the Future movie, but according to de Vries, there are plenty of film opportunities for the EV and it will be seen in at least one movie in the future, if not more.
- There are plenty of concept images floating around in the internet ether, but according to DMC’s CEO, none of those images are the actual vehicle that will be revealed at Pebble Beach.
- With its new design, the DeLorean EV stays true to the original in that the front will resemble the rear and remain symmetrical throughout. According to de Vries, whether it’s in front of you or behind you, you’re going to be able to recognize that it’s a DeLorean.
- The “V” teased on the automaker’s website is present in the center of the new DMC logo and represents the “heartbeat” of the brand. It will be featured in multiple spots throughout the DeLorean EV and in future models (more on that below).
- The company debated on whether to make the DeLorean EV a hypercar, but it ultimately chose not to. The vehicle will not be a 0-60 mph in 1.9 second vehicle, but it will be competitive in the market as a driver car – more specifically in the top five.
- Contrary to many other automakers, DeLorean plans to put assisted driving features second, putting the human element back into the electric vehicle. “This will not be an iPad on wheels.”
- de Vries said the DeLorean will be competitive to the Porsche Taycan and AMG GT. Those are the types of vehicles DMC is benchmarking.
- The buying experience will vary by region – Middle East and South America will be importer based, Europe will be a mix of D2C and franchises, North America is still TBD.
After about twenty minutes or so, the Podcast really starts to get interesting, as de Vries explains that DeLorean is not just building an electric sports car but an entire EV brand:
We need a sports car to relaunch the brand, but the ambition of the brand is to be a full line manufacturer. We cannot survive on a coupe. I don’t care how cool it is, but the volumes don’t justify the investment, or the long-term perspective of what the investment requires. You are going to see other products from us. I’m not going to say if it’s an SUV, or a sedan or whatever, but there will be more volume oriented products.
The DMC CEO then explained that when the team was beginning this rebirth, it dug deep in its archives throughout Europe and the US and discovered the company had previously designed other DeLorean vehicles like a four-door sedan and even a city bus. Furthermore, designers for DeLorean never stopped dreaming up new DMC vehicles, despite the company’s halt to manufacturing decades ago.
In fact, de Vries divulged that there were designs for a 1990 DeLorean, a 2000 DeLorean, and even a 2010 DeLorean – a heritage of vehicles DeLorean plans to share with the world:
So it’s up to us now to educate and to tell our story what happened the last forty years and it’s super exciting to see what we will launch. We’re launching four cars in one go. We’re launching four generations of vehicles to make sure that everyone understands that DeLorean wasn’t just a single car.
So when will we see these heritage vehicles? Over the next ninety days, apparently. Looking at the calendar, that timeline matches up with the scheduled reveal of the DeLorean EV this August in Pebble Beach. So instead of one new DeLorean, there’s a chance the public will actually get a glimpse of four.
A lot still remains unclear as to what is a concept and what will be a prototype planned for production, but DeLorean Motor Company appears poised to make a second run at manufacturing unique vehicles… and apparently not just one like last time. Plenty more tidbits and insight from the full Electrify News Podcast, check it out for yourself here.
DeLorean Motor Company is an American automaker founded in 1975 by John DeLorean. Long before the Cybertruck, the company’s lone vehicle, the DMC DeLorean arrived with stainless steel panels and gull-wing doors.
Though the original iteration’s production was short lived, the brand lives on as a vital part of ’80s pop culture, thanks to three appearances as a customized DeLorean time machine in the Back to the Future trilogy.
While many of the remaining vehicles have been restored and celebrated for their role in the beloved film franchise, that’s about all history has to say about DMC… oh, and that whole drug trafficking sting on John DeLorean by the FBI.
Earlier this year, a new DMC website emerged, touting a silhouette of those all too familiar gull wing doors… but not much else. With a redesigned logo and a new slogan, “The future was never promised,” DeLorean has seemingly reemerged from the bowels of nostalgia and obscurity and will be reborn as an EV brand.
DeLorean EV set to debut August 18 in Pebble Beach
The resurrected automaker shared news of its EV debut via this Tweet from DeLorean Motor Company that is accompanied by a full press release:
In addition to the first genuine sneak peek of the (name TBD) prototype, we learned that this new EV will first be unveiled on August 18, on the Awards Ramp at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Additionally, the DeLorean EV will be on display on the Concept Lawn at Pebble Beach on August 21, as originally planned. Troy Beetz, CMO at DMC elaborated:
Excitement is rising like the doors of our iconic sports car, and we are revealing the next generation prototype three days earlier than planned on the most prestigious stage at Pebble Beach.
DeLorean didn’t elaborate on why the debut had been moved up and why it will be on the Awards ramp, but getting to see this EV prototype three days sooner is welcomed news nonetheless. DeLorean Motor Company also stated that it will share the official name of the EV during the reveal.
The press release refers to the DeLorean EV as both a prototype and a concept, so if a production version does eventually arrive, it is sure to change. Nevertheless, the prospect of an all-electric DeLorean is exciting, and even a three-quarter shot of the left shoulder and taillight might be enough to lure us to Pebble Beach this summer.
If only those original DMC DeLoreans actually worked as time machines.
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Author: Scooter Doll
Source: Electrek
