The DeLorean Motor Company has officially confirmed that the iconic DMC-12 made famous by the Back to the Future films will head back to production next year.
News broke in January that the classic DeLorean would re-enter production after a change in US law, which will allow it to be built in small numbers for the first time since it was phased out in 1982.
However, a date had not been set but the company, which was bought by American Stephen Wynne in 1987 and relocated to Texas, now says that production will open early next year.
300 or more could be made
Only one car will be built a month at the Houston-based facility while the manufacturing process gets up to speed, with the DeLorean Motor Company looking to eventually step up to one a week.
Production targets have yet to be fully confirmed, but it’s believed that the company has enough spare parts lying around to build at least 300 new DMC-12s, exactly as they originally were.
The current DeLorean Motor Company is a separate firm unassociated with the original manufacturer but has been selling refurbished examples of the car since the 1990s.
Prices estimated at £70,000
Each DMC-12 car is made from around 2,800 parts in total, and the company says it owns more than 99 per cent of the original factory stock, as well as the original technical drawings and blueprints.
DeLorean’s first new models are expected to go on sale priced no less than £70,000, with original DMC-12s costing between £25,000 and £35,000 depending on their condition.
The original DeLorean Motor Company was founded by former GM engineer John DeLorean, and the DMC-12’s unique and still-modern appearance was created by designer Giorgetto Giugiaro.
Original DeLorean
Unfortunately, production problems and setbacks meant the DMC-12 arrived on the market nearly a decade over schedule, with only 9,200 of a planned 30,000 models having been built.
The DeLorean founder himself was then charged with drugs trafficking and despite being eventually acquitted, by 1982 both he and his car firm were done as credible forces in the automotive industry.
