by Steve Duda, October 25th, 2011
To say that the Delorean Motor Company has had an interesting history is one of the most epic understatements in the history of the American automobile industry. Formed in 1975 by John Delorean, the company only produced one model, the DMC 12, an aluminum-body, gull wing (made famous by the “Back to the Future” movies) sports car. By 1982, the company was floundering and Delorean became the focus of an FBI drug sting that ultimately found him accused of attempting to smuggle $24 million worth of cocaine into the United States. Delorean was acquitted of the charges but his company never recovered. Shortly thereafter the company was finished.
Fast forward to 2011. Texas businessman Stephen Wynne now owns the Delorean Motor Company name. His past endeavors have included selling T-shirts and sneakers with the iconic DMC logo – now, it seems, the newly reconstituted version of Delorean is begun to set their sights a tad bit higher.
According to the company, Delorean is back in the auto business — the electric auto business. The new Delorean, created in partnership with Epic Electric Vehicles, made its debut (as a concept/prototype) at a Delorean Owners event in Houston recently. The company plans to have the car for sale n the US by 2013.
The new Delorean will share the look of the “classic” DMC 12 and utilize an Epic EV powertrain in early models. The company claims a top speed of 125 MPH and a 0 to 60 time of 4.9 seconds (which is pretty good considering the original DMC did the sprint in a sluggish 10 seconds.) The new DMC will have a range of 100+ miles and take a full charge in 3.5 hours using a 240 volt connection.
There’s no word, however, on whether or not it will come with a Flux Capacitor installed. |
