I know it’s obvious from the picture, but I never realized DeLoreans were stainless steel, which is very rare for vehicles made in the past half-century. DMC DeLorean Wikipedia here
Other DeLorean oddities:
- The car did not vary design by year, but rather by production batch, making it hard to identify a DeLorean’s year from its design
- The car was expensive for its time ($25,000-$34,000 in 1982-1984) and sold as a GT style car, despite being relatively slow (0-60 in approx. 8.8-10sec)
- “A total of four recalls were issued by the factory to correct problems such as a sticking throttle, front-suspension issues and an inertia switch”
- “The original 80-amp Ducellier alternator supplied with the early-production DeLoreans could not provide enough current to supply the car when all lights and electrical options were on; as a result, the battery would gradually discharge, leaving the driver stranded on the road.”
The stainless steel made it very heavy, and it was underpowered. That’s kind of a joke in Back to the Future, getting to 88MPH is non-trivial.
It sounded like a lot when I was 6. My mom told me 40 mph was really fast.
88 is fast. Faster than any highways in my country. Not that people don’t drive that fast here, but it’s not allowed. finger wag
It was faster than all highways in the country at the time. Highways were limited to 55MPH at the time.
88 is pretty fast, but not really time-travel fast. People frequently drive 80-95 on some roads in the US, especially now that speed limits are commonly 65-75 and as high as 85. I also recall when 55 was the standard.
I don’t care if the DeLorean is impractical. I think it’s one of the classiest and timeless looking cars out there.
Doc says the stainless steel bodywork is the reason he chose that car as time machine, when Marty is surprised to see it.
“Besides, the stainless steel construction made the flux dispersal…(watch beeps) Look out!”
