For many the name John DeLorean remains synonymous with glamorous automobiles. The son of a Ford foundry worker, who was by all accounts a drunk, handsome John DeLorean had grown up in a working-class neighborhood in Detroit and rose rapidly at Chrysler, Packard and General Motors.

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In 1961, he became chief engineer at GM’s Pontiac division and introduced two popular muscle cars, the GTO and the Firebird. By 1972, he was a vice president at GM – head of first Pontiac and then Chevrolet for General Motors – and spoken of as a likely candidate for the president’s job. He also dated models and starlets.

But in 1973 he quit his $600,000-a-year job, a phenomenal sum for those days, to pursue his audacious ambition of starting his own car company and to build the $25,000 DeLorean supercar, a futuristic-looking, stainless steel sports car, meant to compete with the Corvette: hailed as a revolutionary vehicle, DeLorean termed it the ‘car of the future.’

Up until sudden serious legal problems in 1982 – a drug bust for which two years later he was acquitted – John DeLorean had been a shining example of the American Dream, accomplished with natural-born talent, hard work, and perseverance. Which is embedded into the very notion of the ever distinctive DeLorean car.

And we have one right now at Beverly Hills Car Club, a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 with only 37,122 miles miles on the odometer. The car is finished in its iconic color scheme of stainless steel combined with a grey interior.

This particular DeLorean comes with a California blue-license plate, featuring a sticker from 1992, adding a layer of provenance and history to the vehicle.

This detail not only enhances its collectible status but also provides a glimpse into its past life on the sunny roads of California.

Equipped with an automatic transmission, rear-mounted V6 engine, mechanical fuel injection, four-wheel disc brakes, dual exhaust outlets, counterbalanced Gullwing doors, quadruple headlights, body side molding, side marker lights, front spoiler, louvered rear-window cover, three-spoke steering wheel, turbine-style wheels dressed in Goodyear tires, and a spare tire fitted in the front trunk. Convenience features include air conditioning, center console, AM/FM radio, dual-side mirrors, and power windows.

This DeLorean DMC-12 comes with an owner’s manual, providing valuable insights into the car’s operation and maintenance. Additionally, it includes a clean CARFAX report, showcasing a history exclusively in the state of California. Whether you’re a die-hard DeLorean enthusiast or simply someone who appreciates automotive history, this emblematic vehicle is a must-have addition to any collection and is mechanically sound.

As it ages, the DeLorean car only increases in desirability. At Beverly Hills Car Club each model we buy and sell assumes immediate cult status: in total we have sold 180 DeLoreans, so it is a really hot sales item.

And this is due to much more than the car’s appearance, as a time machine, in each of the three Back to the Future films. The fact is, the DeLorean is a fabulous product.

With the first production car, made from high-quality stainless steel, completed on January 21, 1981, the design incorporated numerous minor revisions to the hood, wheels and interior before production ended in late December 1982, shortly after DMC filed for bankruptcy and after total production reached about 9,000 units. John DeLorean had understood pop culture, and the pizzazz of the American West Coast. When the DeLoreans started rolling off the production line, at least 45 per cent were sold in California.

To accomplish their manufacture, John DeLorean did a deal with the British government, persuading them to give him $100 million to build a factory in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, a city then blighted by endemic unemployment; Belfast at the time was torn apart by the ‘Troubles’, a euphemism for a full-scale civil war between Catholics and Protestants. DeLorean’s factory was built in the no man’s land between areas controlled by these two religious factions, obliging them to work together, a successful effort at integration.

It was a very big deal that there were Roman Catholics and Protestants working together: schools were not even integrated in Northern Ireland, where the DeLorean factory was an oasis of peace. Accordingly, John DeLorean was seen as the savior of the jobless in West Belfast, giving a great sense of confidence, self-esteem and euphoria to the locals. He was a true local hero.

Unfortunately it was not to last. The company turned out to be too underfunded to fulfil its ambitions. But its achievements were nonetheless impressive. The DeLorean car that emerged from the Belfast factory had taken only 27 months from its first design to a completed model appearing in dealerships: the time arc for a similar development of a new Porsche model in that age was nine years.

To achieve this, however, money was spent as though it was pouring out of an open tap. By 1982 John DeLorean was forced to file for bankruptcy. And all the people working in the DeLorean factory unfortunately lost their jobs.

As ultimately did John DeLorean. He passed away in 2005.

He passed away in 2005.

But it would be hard to deny that with the DeLorean DMC-12 he had made a masterpiece.

-Alex Manos, Owner