1981 DELOREAN DMC-12

If ever there was an American auto executive capable of taking on the 'Big Three' at their own game, John Z. DeLorean was that person. A professional engineer and innovator, DeLorean progressed during his earlier career from Chrysler to Packard, where he helped develop that company's automatic transmission. After being recruited to GM in 1956, DeLorean was given his choice of division, selecting Pontiac, and serving there as assistant to division head 'Bunkie' Knudsen and chief engineer Pete Estes. DeLorean helped Pontiac rise to third place in American automobile sales rankings by 1962 and, as chief engineer, spearheaded the development of Pontiac's most exciting models, including the fabled GTO and 1969 Grand Prix. Rising to Pontiac division head and then serving in that capacity at Chevrolet, where he solved that division's many issues from 1970 to 1972, DeLorean grew tired of GM's conservative management and political matrix, establishing his own car company in 1973. Soon, DeLorean began the development of a prototype two-seat sports car called the 'DeLorean Safety Vehicle,' renamed 'DMC-12.' Colin Chapman of Lotus fame invested heavily in the venture, and his company provided significant chassis-development expertise. Featuring an angular, mid-engine design by Italy's famed Giorgetto Giugiaro, brushed stainless-steel body, and Peugeot-Renault-Volvo V6 engine, the DMC-12 was produced in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with heavy financial support from Margaret Thatcher's U.K. government. About 10,000 cars were produced in all during 1981-82 before the promising venture was shut down. While its original run was all too short, the DMC-12 took on a life of its own in the popular imagination, boosted by the car's starring role (with added Flux Capacitor power) in Steven Spielberg's 1985 blockbuster movie 'Back to the Future.' Purchased for the Mile-High Collection in 2015 and benefiting from climate-controlled storage and limited use, this unrestored and exceptionally original 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 remains an example of John DeLorean's heroic effort to design, develop, mass-produce and market his own vehicle. A Sony aftermarket stereo and Cooper tires are the only updates made to this mostly factory-stock DMC-12. From the Mile-High Collection.

An original example. A Sony aftermarket stereo and Cooper tires are the only updates made to this mostly factory-stock DMC-12. Highly collectible and instantly recognized everywhere. From the Mile-High Collection.