DeLorean hints at electric future

The DeLorean DMC-12 made famous by the Back to the Future movies may soon be making a return to production as an electric vehicle (EV).

The current owners of the marque claim legal challenges and environmental regulations have delayed plans to create petrol-powered replicas.

“We hoped to get into production by 2017 and get three to four years out of it before having to take on the engineering for a new powertrain,” the company says in a blog post.

“It’s believed that [our planned] engine has been extended through perhaps 2024 now, but it doesn’t seem like a good idea to plan around an engine so near its end-of-life.

“However, with EVs becoming more mainstream, we’ve been considering switching to an all-electric future – it certainly makes for an easier path through [the] emissions maze which still looms large over any internal combustion engine.”

Italdesign, a company started by the DMC-12’s designer, and DeLorean have hinted at the cult car returning to production after teasing a silhouette of a gull-winged vehicle on social media.

The DMC-12 recently celebrated its 40th anniversary after the first model rolled off the assembly line on January 21, 1981.

Only 9,000 vehicles were built before the company went bankrupt. DeLorean was acquired by its current owners in the 1990s and several attempts to revive the classic coupe have been unsuccessful to date.

The DeLorean Motor Company’s blog adds changes in the economy because of Covid-19 and a new presidential administration in the US will be key factors to bringing back a “brand with likely the highest name recognition across all demographics in spite of not having a new product in 40 years”.