1982 DeLorean DMC-12 Coupe

John Z. Delorean left Chrysler for Packard, where he helped develop Packard's highly regarded Twin-Ultramatic automatic transmission. With Packard's ill-fated 1954 merger with Studebaker, Delorean was given the opportunity to join his choice of five General Motors divisions. He chose Pontiac, headed by Semon E. 'Bunkie' Knudsen, who gave him a difficult mandate - to 'fix or kill' the marque. Delorean began there as an assistant to chief engineer Pete Estes and Knudsen. Together, these men were able to turn Pontiac around, resulting in the 'Wide Track' 1959 model line and memorable performance cars such as the Grand Prix, 2+2, Bonneville, and the GTO.

In 1965, Delorean was named the head of Pontiac. Through most of the 1960s, Pontiac was able to hold on to its 3rd place market share.

In 1970, Delorean was appointed division head of Chevrolet. Under his guidance, he quickly turned the troubled GM division around. In 1972, he became the Vice-President of GM's entire car and truck production. He grew increasingly tired of GM's corporate politics and left the company in 1973.

After leaving GM, Delorean started his own company, named the Delorean Motor Company. A short time later, a prototype two-seat sports car called the 'Delorean Safety Vehicle' was unveiled. Styled by Giorgetto Giurgiaro of Italdesign and featuring stainless-steel body panels, gullwing-style doors, and the PRV (Peugeot, Renault, and Volvo) V-6 engine, the car was named the DMC-12. New manufacturing facilities were established in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland with major financial incentives from the Northern Ireland Development Agency.

Production began in early 1981, and over the next 21 months, approximately 9,000 DMC-12s were produced.

This particular car, chassis number SCEDT26T9CD011068, is a three-speed automatic car. The government-mandated original 85-mph speedometer has been replaced with the originally intended 130 mph as designed.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2014