For some people, the standard brushed stainless steel finish of the DeLorean holds no great attraction. With this in mind, DMC is reputed to have decided to provide a more tailored appearance when some of the vehicles arrived in the US. They chose to employ a contractor to apply color to some of the cars before they went to market. There has always been speculation as to just how many vehicles were involved, but conventional wisdom places the number at three. One was finished in black, the second received a coat of yellow, while the third vehicle wore red. This particular DeLorean is not one of those three cars, but it wears red paint that was applied by a dealer. It is now set to go to a new home. The spirited bidding to this point suggests that in this guise, it does appeal to a few people. The DeLorean is located in Barkhamsted, Connecticut, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. There have been a total of 56 bids submitted to this point, which has pushed the auction along to $28,300. The reserve hasn’t been met, and if past experience is any indication, then there could be a little way to go yet.
I have to admit that this is not the first time that we have seen this vehicle here at Barn Finds. Our own Jeff Lavery previously wrote about the DeLorean in this excellent article back in 2017. The car began its active life as a dealer demonstrator in San Diego, California, during the second half of 1981. The dealer chose to apply the red paint and the lower body stripe in January of 1982, with the DeLorean finally being sold in March of that year. The car saw some use until it was parked in 1996. It remained idle in its garage until it was offered for sale in 2017. This was when it found its way to its current owner. He undertook all of the work required to return it to active service, but it appears that the body and paint required little attention. It needed some minor paint correction, and the black stripes were replaced. It still presents very nicely, which would suggest that the original color was applied to a high standard. There are no signs of any obvious issues or problems, but I must say that it is hard to get used to a DeLorean that isn’t silver.
The interior of the DeLorean still presents very well, with no signs of any modifications or aftermarket additions. The only visible sign of any problems is some deterioration of the leather upholstery on the driver’s seat. It is hard to tell if the leather has stretched, or if the foam beneath it has begun to collapse. Both items are readily available, so if the next owner is on a quest for perfection, this is something that they might want to address. The headliner is also said to have a slight sag on colder days, so this will require some investigation. In a 1981 context, the DeLorean was well equipped. Not only did buyers find leather on the seats and wheel, but they also received air conditioning, power windows, power locks, and an AM/FM radio/cassette player. The air conditioning was a real bonus in these cars, because, with only a small section of the side windows capable of opening, the interior can potentially become a bit of a furnace on warmer days.
If the DeLorean had lived up to the vision of Mr. DeLorean himself, it would have been quite a lively performer. Initially, the engine bay was supposed to house a mid-mounted Wankel rotary, but this never came to fruition. Other options were considered before settling on the 2,849cc PRV (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) V6. Even then, Mr. DeLorean remained fixated on mid-mounting the engine, but Colin Chapman advised that this was not a viable proposition without significant re-engineering. Therefore, the V6 is mounted at the rear of the car, in the spirit of Porsche. However, with only 130hp at its disposal, the vehicle did not perform like a Porsche. This was a car that struggled to break the 10-second barrier when accelerating from 0-60mph, which was not particularly impressive. As part of the revival process, the owner has undertaken a significant amount of work on this car. This has included to replacement of all hoses and belts, rebuilding the brakes, replacing the master and slave cylinder for the clutch, rectifying some electrical issues, and the tires were replaced. The owner says that it is now a classic that runs and drives very well.
The DeLorean is something different, and painted examples are definitely in the minority. That is almost certainly what has caused the car to generate so much interest, and why the bidding has been so strong. If I were to hazard a guess, I would suggest that the reserve on the vehicle would probably be somewhere around $40,000, or possibly even a bit higher. That is the sort of price that tidy and original survivors tend to achieve today. Higher prices are a possibility, although cars that achieve those sorts of figures tend to be ones with very low odometer readings. So, is this a DeLorean that you find attractive, or would you prefer an original and unmolested vehicle?
I think it looks great in the shade of red. Other than the weak performance of the motor and probably the micro sized window opening, I like these cars just fine.
These look so much better painted where the nose and tail body panels can match the body color. I quite like the red, and would like to see it in yellow or even lime green.
I vaguely remember a company back in the early 80’s offering anodized finishes on the DeLorean. Gold sticks in my mind. Did anyone else see one that was anodized?
I still remember a Motor Trend magazine cover from the 80’s that said “Deloreans in living color” and featured 3 anodized cars including the gold one
It’s sad that the father of the GTO had this as his last automotive vision.
Intriguing and appealing but remembered more for being anemic and impractical.
Perfect car for the movie though.
“Movies”, since the BTTF DeLorean was Parzival’s ride in “Ready Player One”.
The thing that has always bothered me about Deloreans is the nose-in-the-air stance.
I was JUST getting ready to comment about that. Why do so many of them sit nose-high like this?
All the radioactive material used to power the flux capacitor. 🧢
1980s American bumper height regulations
I always thought it was because the engine ended up farther back in the car than it was originally designed ! LOL
Never really cared for this car at all , and the stainless body did nothing for me .It does look 100% better painted IMO , but I still wouldn’t want one
Hmmm. Here I figured that it was because people replaced the shocks with gas-pressurized units, because non-gas types are tough to find these days.
I’m not a fan of these without the 3 recalls being executed. John Delorean’s brother lived across the street from us when I was in my teens. He had Caddy dealership in Lakewood Ohio and dealt in his brother’s cars too. All of the ones he sold I remember bad being painted. Crazy high metallic colors . He also had an original factory Corvette Grand Sport in his garage painted black and would shake the ground with it when he used it.
Wooda, Cudda, Shudda. ……….Oh Well. Way back when there were still many problems surrounding DeLorens and John himself, our local DeLorean distributer was trying to sell his final few cars on hand and get out of that business. His final two NEW loaded cars could have been had for $19,500 each plus tax and license. All cars were so poorly assembled in Ireland that when received off the boats in Los Angeles the cars were taken to a nearby “Quality Control Service Center” to have all the assembly problems corrected before being sent on to the west coast dealers.
Maybe it is the paint, or the low angle, but I can’t recall a better picture of a DeLorean- puts it in a whole different light
The best looking DeLorean that I have ever seen. I think the stainless steel models look unfinished and are waiting before going to the paint shop.
Reading the other comments I stand alone thinking the only thing cool about these cars was the stainless steel.
I always thought instead of black or gray leather if there was only room for two interior choices they should’ve been red or blue velour (with an appropriately loud early ’80s insert pattern) so the brushed stainless could have some color for contrast.
Stainless steel was the cool factor ..
Buy a box of steel wool and fix this problem ….,,
Or
Go back on time and stop 🛑 this problem…, 😉
Lipstick on a pig is still a pig , nice interior though.
The DeLorean only had 2 options: Auto or manual trans, and black or grey interior…
I always like to see a painted one now and then, makes you look twice.
Why do I think “Bricklin” when I see these painted?
It might be ugly, but it sure is slow!
Why has no one said anything about parts for this car. Where would you find them?
I believe that there is a firm in Texas that has pretty much everything you need to keep a DeLorean running. Someone will correct me if I’m wrong.
Yes, in fact they have so many they plan to restart low volume production very soon. They bought all the spares out of bankruptcy.
If on the West Coast, go to https://www.dmccalifornia.com/
The few of these that I’ve seen that have been painted had body damage and paint hid the repairs.
I was going to mention this as well. The only ones that are painted are ones that have had body damage, so proof will have to be shone that this is not the case.
Normally you can’t go wrong with the color RED if you have enough personna to use it to your advantage. But, the purpose of stainless is permanency. You don’t need to re-work the finish. You don’t have fade. It’s all beauty in its natural state. Like some folks who go dumb and paint brick. Makes no sense. Except to them. Enjoy the beauty as nature intended. Nature is on your side.
I do like this painted red. Sometimes they got painted due to body damage that can’t be fixed. If I had one, it would have to be SS.
Looks good in red. DMC12 still has the ugliest wheels ever.
Well, that bit about there being 3 painted cars is just wrong. I lived about a mile as the crow flies from the Bridgewater facility where all the cars went for ‘fixes’ and distribution. I went past it every day. Still have one of the signs from the place when they closed it up. I saw several rows of painted cars all lined up. There were hundreds of cars there at any given time. John Z lived a few miles away, saw him regularly. His son was a regular in my bike shop in the late 80’s.
About 10 or so years ago I came across an article about someone putting investors together and buying the factory or maybe just the dies and machinery and they were going to start building new DeLorean’s with better drivetrains and something about the doors too.
I don’t remember the details but I never heard any more about it
Anybody know??
See link below.
It will get to 88 mph much faster than the silver ones. 🤣
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/new-delorean-dmc-12-price-features-production/
A red one belongs to our car club. I’ve seen ones in black, hunter green, red, and the bright yellow as seen on Mustangs. There were a couple gold plated ones produced also, But the prettiest painted one was candy apple red with polished chrome owned by Curtis who lived in the Lorain OH area. Some owners have converted their engines to turbo. There were three different hoods produced and the speedometer only goes to 85. Parts are available from DMC Houston and their affiliates. They also offer a replacement stainless frame now since the original was not stainless.
I recall seeing a red one in Pigeon Forge, TN, in the early-mid 1980s. Was this the one?
Great write up on my Delorean Adam Clarke, looks like it will be going to a new owner tonight as the reserve was met. I know many don’t like the look of a painted Delorean, but this was an early car and was painted at the dealership because they weren’t selling. John Hine Sr. was good friends with John Delorean and his son John Jr. is now the President of John Hine Dodge, who I talked to in 2017 after I bought the car. I was able to confirm that this car was indeed his personal demonstrator and all the details about the several cars they painted to get them sold. Painted or not, this car has a great history and is one of the few all original unmolested or modified early Deloreans in existence.