2011 is proving to be a big year for Back to the Future, sci-fi movie and nostalgia fans—I’m pretty sure those three labels go hand-in-hand-in-hand. But where did that third hand come from (Naked Gun reference there, yes I’ll STFU now)?
Last month
I wrote about the Nike MAG—Nike’s first ever, official release of the self-lacing high top that featured prominently in Back to the Future II. 1500 of the shoes were auctioned off raising an impressive
$5.6M for charity.
Now the Back to the Future, one-two punch is complete—the DeLorean DMC-12 is going to be released for sale, for real. Now, if you don’t know what a DeLorean is, then perhaps you’ve accidentally chanced upon the Tech section—thanks for reading this far anyway.
The car, which is the centrepiece of the whole Back to the Future story, is to be put back into production by the DeLorean company in 2013. Originally conceived in 1979 and produced in Northern Ireland from 1981-1983, the DMC-12 will be made in Texas instead.
According to the DeLorean
website, they’ve teamed up with an electric-car startup Epic EV to put an all-electric power train into the car. Whilst the DMC-12 is marketed as a sports car, it’s performance figures are modest at best. With 193kW of power, the DMC-12’s top speed maxes out at 200kph.
The up side is that it can easily hit 88mph (≈140kph), the required speed for the car to travel through time. I would expect most owners to be fitting
custom made Flux Capacitors to theirs that kick in at the right speed. How could you not?
Whether or not the car really makes it into production (you generally want a booming world economy in which to launch a niche car) remains to be seen—2013 is a long way away.
Here are the top 5 DeLorean facts according to the internet:
5. The DeLorean’s body was penned by Giugaro. He was one of the pioneers of the wedge-shape school of the 1970s. Including this:
The Porsche Tapiro concept car complete with robot lady on roof.
Where Lucas got the idea for R2D2 on the back of an X-Wing, though this was never proven.
4. The DeLorean was available in 24k gold plate. Two gold models were produced in 1981 as part of an American Express promotion. They projected that 100 would be made.
The original bling car. Kanye don't have this; 50Cent don't have this. They Phantom got nuthin on this.
3. OK, so I’ve already mentioned this, but the car was originally produced in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The location was chosen in a bid to help Northern Ireland’s industry to get on its feet. The factory was built over a peat bog. Thatcher gave him £14M.
2. The DMC-12 had a top speed of 140mph, yet its speedometer only read up to 85mph. Why didn’t Zemeckis choose 85mph instead? Oh Hollywood.
McFly was actually doing 140mph!
1. The car’s creator, John DeLorean, was arrested for cocaine smuggling, allegedly in a bid to save his ailing car company, but got off the charges due to FBI entrapment. He also looks like George Clooney’s dad.
One designs cars and imports coke. The other drinks Nespresso whilst contemplating bank heists.