It took over forty years for the DeLorean DMC-12 to finally live up to the promise its design suggested. Mythical thanks to the film Back to the Future, the famous gull-winged car became a cult item... but at the time, its commercial failure left a bitter taste.
When it came out in 1981, the DeLorean had a striking look: brushed stainless steel bodywork, gullwing doors and futuristic styling... but the powertrain was far too timid under the hood. The factory chose a 2.8-liter V6 PRV (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) engine developing just 130 hp. The result: a 0 to 100 km/h time of over 10 seconds, a far cry from the sports cars of the time, such as the Porsche 911 or Corvette.
This lack of power, combined with a high price, imperfect finish, limited distribution network and John DeLorean's legal scandal, precipitated the company's bankruptcy after producing just 9,000 examples between 1981 and 1983. Ironically, the cinema saved the DeLorean by giving it a cult following. But on the road, it never lived up to its promise.
Today, this mechanical injustice has finally been rectified thanks to a team of enthusiasts. While Europe is thinking about electric motors, In the United States, FuelTech has resurrected a DeLorean without an engine by grafting a Ferrari V8 under its stainless steel body! Specifically, the 460-hp, 4.3-liter naturally-aspirated engine from a wrecked 2012 Ferrari California.
To cope with this new cavalry, the DeLorean received a major technical reinforcement: reinforced chassis, KW suspension, aluminum suspension arms, rigid silent blocks, oversized brakes and Toyo R888 tires. The six-speed manual gearbox is a Tiptronic borrowed from a Porsche 911.
Unveiled at the SEMA Show in 2024, the Ferrari DeLorean V8 finally hit the road this summer at the Caffeine and Octane gathering in Atlanta. What was once accused of being a static concept has become a living, breathing car, ready to live up to its '80s supercar look. We can already imagine a new Back to the Future movie with this Delorean roaring along with a Ferrari V8 engine!
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