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The DeLorean is heading back to the future as an EV – hopefully it avoids the pitfalls of the original

Delorean EV

If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember the DeLorean as the vehicle that transports Doc Emmet Brown and Marty McFly back to the future. Or past. Or a different past. It’s complicated, but the original Robert Zemeckis trilogy is still glorious fun. And surprisingly traumatising, but you’ll find that out on a rewatch.

If you’re a little older than that, you might remember the DeLorean as an interesting car design with a dark history. Netflix has a documentary series about it if you feel the need to catch up. Basically, though, it was a cool but wholly impractical car. Expensive, finicky and prone to mechanical problems, it was a little like owning a Ferrari but without any of the Italian flair. But it entered into mythology thanks to that series of classic time-travel movies.

The future of the DeLorean


The DeLorean Motor Company may be banking on that mythology to help generate interest in its latest project. The vehicle is on the way back, in an actually-futuristic form. The resurrected company posted a brief teaser for an electric version of the nostalgic car, which will apparently turn up sometime this year.

Little is known about the DeLorean EV, besides the fact that it’ll be an EV. And it’ll keep the gull-wing doors. There’s no range info, battery details, or even a hint about what it looks like. Beyond a vague outline, all we’ve got is some marketing hype.

The current incarnation of the DMC basically just owns the logo and the leftover parts from the original company. They spend a lot of time keeping the original cars running. It’s entirely possible that their planned EV will utilise an all-new design but, should they have the rights to it, they’d be foolish not to come out with a Back to the Future version. Even as a limited special edition, it would make sense. There are bound to be a few Flux Capacitor-mad fans out there who would splash some cash on something that looks like the car from the second film. Especially if the charger plugs in by the Mister Fusion port.

As long as DeLorean makes its design compatible with nostalgia-mad fans, and avoids the ‘breaks all the time’ and ‘costs too much’ pitfalls, the company’s got a decent shot. It enters the EV market later this year. We’ll have more info just as soon as it becomes available.

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