Late to market. Expensive. Underpowered. Difficult to repair. And yet, a cult classic. We’re talking about the DeLorean DMC-12 made from 1981 through 1983 – though that time frame was a fraction of the lifetime of DeLorean Motor Company. Never was a car more anticipated than the DeLorean, conceived in the 1970s by a man born in Detroit to a Romanian father and a Hungarian mother. John DeLorean had a resume as eclectic as his roots, gaining entry to school thanks to his musical talent, and working as an insurance salesman to hone his personal skills before finally becoming an engineer at Chrysler. Iconoclastic, rebellious but brilliant, attracting trouble throughout his life, DeLorean the man was like DeLorean the car. In the end, before bankruptcy swallowed the company, fewer than 10,000 DMC-12s were made. To own a slice of this sensation, navigate to eBay where a single-owner 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 is for sale, bid to $50,100, reserve not met. This car can be driven to its new garage from Sun City, Arizona.
The DeLorean’s design rotated through countless pre-market iterations – all the while chewing through capital – before the rear-engined, stainless steel design by Giugiaro came to market. Powered by a 130 hp, Bosch-injected, 2.85 liter V6 co-developed by Peugeot, Renault and Volvo, the car was woefully slow. Its 35/65 weight distribution was not ideal. The optional five-speed manual gearbox was a Renault item, and owners reported leaking and second gear failures in the day. This car has only 4600 miles from new, with documentation to prove the odometer reading (note that the “below average” AutoCheck incorporated in the eBay listing is not for the DeLorean; instead, it is for a Lincoln Navigator).
Auto interior design was not a strong suit generally in the 1980s. The DeLorean is no exception, being chunky and business-like, with its gauge pod, console, and passenger padding below the glove box making three distinct sections. Seating surfaces were leather, and all cars came in this same dove grey color (“you can have one color, so long as it’s….”). Befitting the low miles on this example, wear is minimal. All gauges, the air conditioning, and lights are said to work.
The seller will supply documentation from new, including receipts for over $21,000 of work completed at DeLorean Motor Company in California. Noted is one minor body imperfection near a rear wheel well. Repairing this stainless body is difficult so it’s no surprise that the owner skipped that work. Another trouble spot can be the doors – they’re quite heavy and the struts can fail. All this said, these cars have seen substantial price increases in the last few years. This site, recording statistics for a small subset of the DMCs made, shows its popularity among collectors aged 30 to 50 – many of whom grew up with the movie Back to the Future and its fantastical DeLorean. Commensurate with the rise in prices, supply to the market has burgeoned: I counted fifteen for sale on Hemmings alone today, but also noted that most of those bore asking prices over the bid on this one. What do you think – would you own a DeLorean?
Yes we all know they are not quick or fast, but i think they are still very cool.
Low miles is explainable as they are really unpleasant to drive. Cramped, poor rear visibility, difficult to get in and out of, handle only so so (come on, no mid engine!) adequate power but not commensurate with the price tag or perceived status.. The gull wing doors and interesting finish only go so far. Most became collectors items because no one truly cared to drive them very far. It took decades for that to happen, original owners who paid way over sticker, got burned pretty bad on these. If I had the money to buy one, I would not. Got a chance to drive one years back, and that forever sealed my opinion on these.
Perhaps the low miles is because it was only driven from time to time? (Sorry, someone had to say it!)
Well done, sir.
Mileage doesn’t accumulate on the odometer when it’s flying. The tires don’t touch the ground.
I remember being at a car show many years ago, and a little boy looked up at his dad and asked “Dad, does this one fly?”
Well did it? Don’t leave us hanging.
LOL Howie…. the dad just say “maybe”….. I was almost going to step up and tell the kid that it sure does fly… but then dad was a pretty good sized dude
My friend’s son recently bought one, and paid close to 90K… Then, he picked up the black Toyota SR5 to sit beside it at shows!!
If not for the courtroom drama and the “Back to the Future” movies, DeLorean would be just another footnote in history, a mediocre touring car with flashy skin and doors.
Get out the Windex! A dog of a car with a terrible drivetrain. DeLorean the guy who gave us great Muscle cars. The curtain came down on his final build out of Ireland.
Can’t buy a project Delorean here on barnfinds either. My bucket list calls for a project to make right what once was wrong. Kind of Quantam Leap style! Maybe a good front drive rice car and a decent front suspension from a… jeep! A 4×4 Delorean? Nope, not a jeep. A solstice, those things can handle. Just a dream 😴
This will sell for surprisingly strong money…..looks to be in very good nick!
👍🤓
Strong money because of investor speculation, not because they were great cars. Don’t get me wrong, when they first came out I thought they were pretty cool, as most everyone else did too…but once I got a chance to get behind the wheel of one, that was all she wrote. This will go into some overly rich guys vast collection, but driven rarely, if at all. It will get trailered to events and sit behind a rope with a nod and wink write up to Back to the Future. Eventually, time will pass and no one will care.
There’s one way i’ve seen to make a Delorean faster….drop in an LS2 6.0!and have it mate up to the factory gearbox.There is one example like that out there somewhere.it was featured on a episode of horsepower tv.it was making 400hp after a cam swap.
I love the idea of someone making the necessary engine, transmission and chassis changes to make the performance match what the cosmetics suggest. Not for every model…but just for the DeLorean.
I test drove a manual in 1981 and thought the clutch was way too hard, so I bought an automatic. I kept it for 4 years and put 45,000 miles on it. It needed a lot of repairs and maintenance and everything was expensive. But it was a blast to drive. At a stop light behind a school bus, all the kids ran to the back to look. Motorcycle riders always gave me a thumbs-up. It was like being a rock star. I don’t regret owning it for a minute.
My wife took over her dad’s ’81, so we have a one-family DeLorean. Clubs are very vibrant with incredible owners’ knowledge. We alredy crossed France with it and will go on a club outing again end of the month. Surprisingly comfortable ride, no back ache (I’m 68!) and totally acceptable reliability. And, right: the looks, smiles and thumbs ups we get is phenomenal, much friendlier than if we had a Porsche or Ferrari! Lots of fun!
Ended $50,300 Reserve Not Met.