DeLorean Owner to Relaunch Low-Volume Production Next Year

Prompted by recent changes that relax regulations for low-volume manufacturing, DeLorean Motor Co. plans to start making replicas of the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 sports car starting next year.

The Humble, Tex.-based company, which bought the rights to the DeLorean name in 1995, aims to initially make four cars a month and sell them for about $100,000 apiece. It has been refurbishing old DeLoreans—about 9,000 were sold in the 1980s—and selling parts to owners around the world for three decades.  

The impetus for the relaunch, says CEO Stephen Wynne, is the new Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers bill signed into law last month as part of the 2015 Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act. It allows companies to produce as many as 325 replica cars per year that resemble the appearance of vehicles produced 25 years ago or more, without having to meet the latest safety requirements.

But the low-volume replicas still will have to meet new fuel economy and emissions standards. As a result, DeLorean won’t be able to use the Peugeot-Renault-Volvo 2.8-liter V-6 that powered the original DMC-12. Wynne says the final price of the replica models will depend on what engine is used in its place. An electrified variant also is said to be under consideration.      

Designed by Ital Design’s Giorgetto Giugiaro, the DMC-12 features a fiberglass chassis with a stainless steel body and gullwing doors. Production at the original DeLorean Motor Co.’s plant in Northern Ireland stopped in 1982 when the company fell into receivership. Founder John DeLorean was arrested for drug trafficking but successfully fought on the grounds of entrapment and was acquitted of all charges.

The DMC-12 famously went on to star in the Back to the Future movie trilogy of the 1980s. Equipped with a mysterious flux capacitor and powered by a plutonium-fueled nuclear reactor that generated 1.21 gigawatts of electricity, the movie car was able to travel through time when it reached 88 mph. In the futuristic sequel, the movie technology advanced to allow the DeLorean to fly and use a “Mr. Fusion” generator that runs on recycled garbage.