Delorean Returns: Production Continues for Back to the Future Car

The Delorean is back! The car made famous by the movie Back To The Future is back in production and in Texas, no less. The last assembly line in Northern Ireland (Dunmurry) that manufactured the Delorean collapsed in 1982, after an onslaught of legal woes brought the company to its knees. The company's now deceased founder; John Z. Delorean, originally worked at General Motors and quit to form his own company.

The car can be purchased via The Delorean Motor Company on its Web site, at http://www.delorean.com/. You may opt to purchase a pre-owned or "new build" Delorean. The Web site describes a new build car as:

" ...an evolution of our previously available "remanufactured" program. These new build cars are made to order, using a combination of original (NOS) parts from the Ireland factory, original (OEM) parts that we source from the original suppliers to the factory and our growing line of reproduction parts."

The car is visually known for its gull-wing doors and stainless steel exterior. Even larger than its connection to Back to the Future, is the story of John Delorean himself. John was caught with 55 lbs of cocaine and arrested in 1982 for drug-trafficking in order to raise money to save his fledging company (purportedly). He successfully defended himself against these charges, showing that his alleged involvement was a result of entrapment by federal agents. He married four times including once to a supermodel and fathered three children.

He eventually declared bankruptcy himself and had his large Bedminster, New Jersey Estate taken from him in 2000 (now owned by Donald Trump and site of the Trump National Golf Club). Coincidentally this is mere miles from my home. Mr. Delorean passed away in 2005 at the age of 80 in New Jersey after suffering from a stroke.

The car is being manufactured in suburban Houston and is said to sell for $57,500 USD. You can purchase a pre-owned or a new build car from the website. The "new build" cars are made to order using a combination of the original parts from the factory in Ireland as well as reproduction parts. Several small tweaks have been added to the Delorean to improve it's handling and bring it up-to-date. On the "new build" options you can add include items such as a high performance engine (one of the original Delorean's biggest detractors was the engine), auto transmission, audio upgrades, and goodies like satellite radio, heated seats and GPS. If authenticity is your thing, you can still buy an original 1981 Delorean on E-bay for as little as $15K-$20K.

Modern Marvels a documentary TV series on the History Channel took a visit to the Delorean Motor Company in Texas and produced an eight-minute piece on the reemergence of this classic vehicle. The piece does the return of the car justice when it states

"...just because they don't mass produce the car anymore does not mean that you cannot buy a Delorean that is new (ish)."