Back From The Future Is The Delorean DMC-12 About To Make An Epic Return?

Four decades after its debut, the pop culture icon could be reborn for a whole new audience

- Richard Augustin

THE DELOREAN DMC-12 is arguably one of the most identifiable vehicles in the world today. Thanks to its appearance in the Back to the Future trilogy, the DMC-12 has been immortalised in the annals of pop culture history. But despite its starring role, there is a story behind the iconic vehicle that many may not be familiar with.

In the original Back to the Future draft, the time machine that Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) built was a refrigerator. However, director Robert Zemeckis and producer, Steven Spielberg decided to swap it for an automobile instead. And what better vehicle to embody a time machine than the futuristic DeLorean DMC-12.

Back from the Dead

Back to the Future was made in 1985 but the company that made the DeLorean had already gone bust in 1982. Still, the car was chosen due to its forward-looking design accentuated by its stainless-steel body and gullwing doors. The man behind the design of the car was Giorgetto Giugiaro who designed icons like the BMW M1 and Lotus Esprit. He also co-founded design firm Italdesign, which could now be behind the revival of the iconic model.

Forty years after the DeLorean DMC-12 first rolled off assembly lines, the Italian design firm has teased the arrival of a new DeLorean model. In a Twitter post in late January, Italdesign paid homage to the DMC-12 with a post celebrating its 40th anniversary.

“The DeLorean DMC-12 turns 40 this year” read the post followed by a pair of photos – one depicting the original production model from 21 January 1981. The second image, however, was the one that sent the imaginations of petrolheads into overdrive.