OPINION
In a key plot point in the Back to the Future films, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), stuck in 1885, secretes the DeLorean time machine in an abandoned goldmine. Seventy years later, the machine is retrieved – dusty but intact and almost fully functional. The still, dry air of the mine, away from damaging sunlight, is in near-pristine condition.
A recent find has almost mirrored fiction: less about 30 years and conspicuously absent a flux capacitor.
But it’s nonetheless the sort of story to make a car lover green with envy.
A group that restores classic cars recently uncovered a blast from the past when they found an original 1981 DeLorean sitting in a barn in southern Wisconsin. Even more amazingly, the car, turned into a cultural phenomenon by the 1985 film Back to the Future, was in nearly pristine condition – albeit a bit dirty.
Michael McElhattan, owner of the restoration company DeLorean Midwest, said he first heard about the untouched vehicle from the nephew of the car’s original owner, informing McElhattan that they were looking to sell it. While the nephew had called all the way from New Mexico, McElhattan is an Illinois native, meaning he didn’t have to travel far to see the unique vehicle.
For what he found, even a long drive from Illinois to New Mexico would have been a cheap price to pay.
Amazingly, the DeLorean still had all its original parts from 1981 and only clocked 977 miles since it was built. That said, it wasn’t exactly ready to drive.
“We opened it up, and the first thing I saw was a mouse go across the center console,” said DeLorean Midwest’s social media coordinator, Kevin Thomas, who accompanied McElhattan to check out the historic car.
The whole car was coated in dust and in need of a serious clean-up, but it was in good condition in the ways that mattered.
Like the movie car, being stored away from the elements worked wonders.
“The condition of the leather, the condition of the instruments, cluster in the dash, and a lot of places where you see sun damage – and that’s one of the big killers on this – this car virtually has no sun damage,” McElhattan said. “To take a car from this condition to what I know we can do with it is just – that’s an adventure anybody wants to be on.”
Not that car enthusiasts would have been quite so excited, back in 1981.
You see, for all its ‘cool’ factor, especially thanks to Hollywood, the DeLorean was really quite a shitty piece of work.
The DeLorean was the sole production of John DeLorean’s DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), and it was only produced for the American market for a brief period starting in 1981. Designed by famed Italian automotive designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, it was notable in particular for its gull-wing doors and brushed stainless steel outer body.
However, the DeLorean was also plagued with issues. To start, it was highly priced despite not having the power and performance that warranted it. It also developed a reputation for being poorly built and simply not being great to drive.
Still, it couldn’t be denied that the DeLorean was a striking car. Its use in the Back to the Future films, not to mention inspiring the name of one of the most influential early rap groups, made it even more iconic.
But that didn’t help John DeLorean much, as his business and personal woes piled up.
Initial interest in the DeLorean seemed fairly high. However it quickly faded, and eventually, the company produced more cars than it could sell. Coupled with the US entering a recession towards the end of 1981 and into 1982, the price for the DeLorean was starting to become unjustifiable.
Things only got worse for DMC, and John DeLorean in particular, on October 19, 1982, when DeLorean was arrested and charged with conspiracy to obtain and distribute 55 pounds of cocaine in what would be a $24 million drug deal.
Although he was acquitted of the charges in 1984, DeLorean continued to face legal issues, eventually going to trial for fraud and being forced to pay millions of dollars to creditors and lawyers.
Meanwhile, The DeLorean Motor Company had gone bankrupt, and its remaining cars and parts were bought out by Consolidated International, now known as Big Lots.
All That’s Interesting
But, would you turn down the chance to buy a DeLorean in near-immaculate condition, with just over 1500 km on the clock?