This is a DeLorean DMC-12 that’s been given a series of modifications that some feel all DeLoreans should have left the factory with – the most important of which is a turbocharger that significantly improves both horsepower and torque across the rev-range.
The original naturally-aspirated DMC-12 only made 130 bhp and 153 lb ft of torque, giving the car performance that many felt was lacking, especially given the space-age looks bestowed upon it by Giorgetto Giugiaro, and the chassis engineering that had been performed by Colin Chapman and his team at Lotus in the UK.
Fast Facts: A Turbocharged DeLorean DMC-12
- The DeLorean DMC-12 was developed by John DeLorean and his team in the 1970s as a forward-looking American GT, styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro and engineered by Lotus. Production began in 1981 at the Dunmurry plant in Northern Ireland with significant financial backing from the British government, aiming for a $25,000 market slot against Corvette and Porsche rivals.
- Powered by a rear-mounted 2.85 liter PRV V6, the DMC-12 delivered 130 bhp and 162 lb ft in US trim, paired to either a 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic. Performance figures of 0 to 60 mph in 10.5 seconds and a top speed of around 117 mph disappointed many buyers, underdelivering on the promise of the striking stainless bodywork and chassis design.
- Efforts to correct the performance gap included Legend Industries’ twin-turbo prototypes, but financial troubles halted the project. Production ceased by late 1982 after approximately 9,000 examples were built. The DMC-12 achieved global fame in 1985 as the “Time Machine” in Back to the Future, ensuring it would forever live on as a cultural icon.
- The modified DMC-12 you see here has extensive upgrades, most notably a Rajay turbocharger with water injection, ported cylinder heads, and a dual exhaust. Its rebuilt V6 includes high-compression pistons and strengthened internals, with an (installed but currently non-functional) nitrous system claimed to add 125 bhp.
History Speedrun: The DeLorean DMC-12
John DeLorean left General Motors in the early 1970s to build a different kind of American GT – safe, stylish, and forward-thinking. By 1976 he had a running prototype, the DSV (DeLorean Safety Vehicle), styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro with stainless panels and those now-famous gull-wing doors. It seems possible that he was at least partly influenced by Malcolm Bricklin and the Bricklin SV-1.
Above Video: This is an award-winning, must-watch, and free documentary about the DMC-12 that was filmed in period, on site, with the permission of John DeLorean himself.
DeLorean’s early plan called for a lightweight plastic monocoque body made via the Elastic Reservoir Molding (ERM) technique, powered by a mid-mounted powertrain.
As it played out, ERM never evolved into production-ready form, and engineering partner Lotus reworked the concept around a steel backbone chassis with a fiberglass body – mirroring their design for cars like the Lotus Europa and Lotus Esprit. Perhaps the biggest difference was that the DMC-12 would have stainless skins over the body rather than paint.
During this redesign the engine also moved aft of the rear axle, but the car’s fundamental design as laid out by Giugiaro remained much the same – with a low stance, a wide track, and those show-stopping gullwing doors.
Much of the funding for the project came from the British government, which desperately wanted jobs in Northern Ireland. A new factory rose at Dunmurry, near Belfast, and prototype builds began late in 1980. The first true production car rolled off the line on January the 21st, 1981.
John DeLorean pitched the car at around $25,000 USD – this was more than a Corvette and not far off a Porsche 911 – positioning the DMC-12 as a comfortable GT car with Italian looks, an Irish heart, and decidedly American ambitions.
Celebrity backers and buyers included the likes of Johnny Carson and Sammy Davis Jr, two of the most beloved show business names in the country, which didn’t hurt the buzz around the car.
DMC-12 Specifications
Under the rear deck sat the 2.85 liter PRV V6, developed as a joint project by Peugeot, Renault, and Volvo (this is where the PRV name was derived from). In US trim it made 130 bhp at 5,500 rpm and around 162 lb ft of torque at 2,750 rpm, and it was paired with a 5-speed manual or a 3-speed automatic.
Unusually for a DeLorean, this one also has a nitrous-oxide system that is currently disconnected, but which is claimed to add an additional 125 bhp when it’s plumbed in.
Period tests put 0 – 60 mph in 10.5 seconds and top speed around 117 mph. Not quick for its price class, but the chassis worked relatively well, with independent four-wheel suspension with Lotus DNA, disc brakes all round, and staggered 14/15 inch wheels with wider rear tires to help tame the rear-engine weight bias.
Early build quality was the thorn in the DeLorean’s side. The first few hundred cars needed extensive post-assembly fixes at dealerships in the US, and magazine testers noted ill-fitting doors and trim gremlins even as they praised the design and comfortable interior.
The Legend Industries Turbo
Things improved through 1982 as production matured, but the timing was ugly – a US recession hit, the car had a high sticker price, and it had tough competition from quicker GTs that were decidedly less quirky. DeLorean’s team explored more power with the Legend Industries’ twin-turbo PRV program, which delivered the sort of acceleration the car needed – but sadly it never reached production-ready status before the company hit the wall financially.
Production ran from January 1981 through December 1982, with a small number of unsold or unfinished cars later completed and re-VINed for sale as 1983s. Depending on whose ledger you trust, the total falls right around 9,000 cars. That short run, plus memorable design, stainless skins, and celebrity-owner fame, made the car a collectible almost by default, even as its reputation wallowed.
Back to the Future
In a sad twist of fate, the DeLorean became a major global celebrity in its own right just three years later in 1985 when the film Back to the Future debuted, with a DMC-12 as a time machine.
Above Video: This is a feature-length documentary about the history of the DeLorean Time Machine from Back to the Future.
If the company had managed to survive until 1985, and to get that turbocharged engine into production, Back to the Future would likely have resulted in such a spike in demand that the firm would have been on much more solid financial ground.
Still, this is all conjecture and it was never meant to be. Today, with strong parts support from the modern DeLorean Motor Company in Texas and knowledgeable specialists on both sides of the Atlantic, owners can keep them on the road and, if they want, install turbocharging kits, or even LS V8-swaps if they want some of that tire squealing from the Marty McFly universe.
The Turbocharged DeLorean DMC-12 5-Speed Shown Here
The car you see here is a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 with the 5-speed manual transmission – the version the purists typically want. It’s been given a series of upgrades to ensure it has the power and performance that the design always promised – most importantly, it’s now turbocharged.
The 2.85 liter V6 was previously rebuilt, it now has a 0.030″ over-bore and a balanced rotating assembly. It was built with a Rajay turbocharger with water-injection, Venolia 10:1 compression-ratio pistons, rings, and connecting rods, five-angle valve-seat machining, cylinder-head and plenum intake porting, and a 2.5″ dual exhaust system with a high-temperature coating.
The car you see here is a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 with the 5-speed manual transmission – the version the purists typically want. It’s been given a series of upgrades to ensure it has the power and performance that the design always promised – most importantly, it’s now turbocharged.
Unusually for a DeLorean, this one also has a nitrous-oxide system that is currently disconnected, but which is claimed to add an additional 125 bhp when it’s plumbed in.
The car is now being offered for sale out of Auburn, New Hampshire on Bring a Trailer with no reserve price, an owner’s manual, related literature, spare parts, a clean Carfax report, and a clean Florida title. If you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
