Who Makes DeLorean Cars?

by Leo Wilkinson

DeLorean is an American car brand with two distinct operating periods – in its original form in the late 1970s to 1981 and since 1995 under new ownership. Only one DeLorean model – the DMC-12 – has been produced to date.

In This Article:

Who Makes DeLorean Cars?

The story of DeLorean cars is long, wild and better covered elsewhere. The basics are that the brand was created by John DoLorean, a Detroit native and former executive at General Motors, in 1975. Its first – and only – car was the DMC-12, a distinctive two-door sports coupe with gullwing doors, a V6 engine and unpainted stainless steel bodywork. You might know it better as the car from the movie Back to the Future. Built at a factory in Northern Ireland from 1981 and dogged by production problems, a high price and poor performance, the DMC-12 was a sales flop and the DeLorean Motor Company went bankrupt in 1982.

In 1995 Englishman Stephen Wynne, who ran a successful car repair business in California, acquired the DeLorean name and a huge supply of original parts and began repairing and rebuilding DMC-12s in Humble, Texas. In 2022, the reborn DeLorean Motor Company announced plans to start building an all-new, pure-electric four-seat model called the DeLorean Alpha5.

What Sort of Vehicles Does DeLorean Make?

There’s only one production DeLorean model to date – the DMC-12 that was built from 1981 to 1982. About 9000 were made, although it’s estimated that less than 7000 were sold and that no more than 6000 exist today. The DMC-12’s stainless steel bodywork, gullwing doors and exterior design (by Giorgetto Giugiaro) and Hollywood starring role make it one of the most recognisable cars on the planet yet it failed to sell well enough to keep the company afloat.

The second iteration of the DeLorean Motor Company has restored and upgraded many original DMC-12s but in 2022 announced that it intends to build a new – and totally unrelated – coupe model called the Alpha. It’s a long, low four-seater with large gullwing doors and a pure-electric powertrain that;’s claimed to give a battery range of more than 300 miles and a 0-60mph time of less than three seconds. Production of the Alpha5 was due to start in late 2024.

by Leo Wilkinson

Leo is a writer and editor specialising in the automotive sector. He has held senior roles at What Car?, MSN Cars, The Telegraph and Cazoo, and since gone on to write for brands including Auto Trader and CarGurus. Over the past twenty-plus years he has driven and reviewed hundreds of cars, from budget-priced runarounds to luxury SUVs.

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