1981 DeLorean DMC-12 Coupe

In the long and colorful pantheon of automotive moguls, John DeLorean stands out; first at GM and later at the eponymous DeLorean Motor Company. Trained as an engineer, he quickly moved from Chrysler to Packard to GM, where he is credited as the force behind the Pontiac Firebird, Grand Prix, and iconic GTO. By age 40, he was GM's youngest division head and was soon running the prestigious Chevrolet Division.

To the chagrin of buttoned-down GM brass, he was also cutting quite the dashing pop culture figure. In an age when executives were low-key, sober-minded company men, DeLorean's long sideburns, unbuttoned shirts, and shameless jet-setting lifestyle did not go unnoticed. Never willing to fit GM's traditional mold for someone of his stature and tired of battling senior management, the iconoclastic DeLorean left the GM fast track to form the DeLorean Motor Company in 1973.

In 1981 the first of roughly 8,500 stylish DMC-12 two-seaters rolled out the Northern Ireland factory replete with gull-wing doors and unpainted, brushed stainless steel body panels. The unconventional design captivated the motoring public. Powered by a Peugeot-Renault-Volvo 2.9L V6 with 130 horsepower, it could do 0-60 mph in 8.8 seconds and topped out at 135 MPH; respectable numbers for that era.

Of course, the DMC-12 is justly famous for its role as a time machine in the Back to the Future film trilogy. This example has been outfitted with a 'flux capacitor' in tribute and its license plate is a movie reference.