Revived from the ashes of its former company, DeLorean is putting the iconic DMC-12 back into production. The DeLorean DMC-12 was in built for only two years in the early 80’s and only 9,000 were produced. By some estimates, more than two-thirds of those are still around.
Parts today are hard to come by. The company name changed hands and became a way for parts to be sourced or made custom for the modern-day enthusiast. Now, DeLorean plans to build a small production of 300 full DeLorean DMC-12s for the 2017 model year. Intended as a replica, they plan to keep it as similar to the original model as possible. They’ll need to source a new engine as all 2017 production cars need to meet EPA emissions standards, and the 1981 technology just won’t cut it.
If they’re making a some changes here and there, here’s 5 more technologies we’d like to see in the 2017 DeLorean DMC-12:
1. Electric Engine
If you’re forced to update for the future, go for broke. Mr. Fusion technology isn’t here yet, and keeping plutonium in your trunk is more dangerous than a fully-fuelled Pinto. DeLorean will likely outsource the engine to one of the Big 3 American auto companies, but since Tesla released the patents on their electric car technology to everyone, why not look to them?
In the spirit of innovative start-ups producing revolutionary cars, Tesla succeeded where DeLorean failed. One issue that might arise is that such a radical change in technology could be the need for a completely redesigned drivetrain. If the goal for DeLorean is to make more cars so that there are more parts for the new AND old models, then they might stick with gas. How retro.
Still, when you’re charging over $100,000 for a car and Tesla will be releasing an all-electric Model III for one-third that price, you can’t use the excuse that it will cost too much.
2. Flux Capacitor
We don’t have time travel technology yet. Or if we do, then someone is wisely keeping it shelved. That’s not the point. I would bet that of the estimated 6,500 current DeLorean owners, Back to the Future contributed to their purchase in some way. If I were to consider buying a new DMC-12, then it would need that equally iconic Flux Capacitor.
