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 at least 180 DeLoreans, so it is a really hot sales item, clearly with lasting appeal.

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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, coated with the mythology and legend of John DeLorean, its originator, the DeLorean is a fabulous product, a true motoring masterpiece. John DeLorean had understood American pop culture, and the pizzazz of the West Coast. When the DeLoreans started rolling off the production line, at least 45 per cent were sold in California.

Hence we presently have at Beverly Hills Car Club a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 5-Speed, a magnificent example that shows just 41,919 miles on the odometer.

Finished in a red exterior over a grey interior, this example represents one of the most recognizable automotive designs of the 1980s. With its angular body lines, rear-mounted V6 engine, and distinctive Gullwing doors, the DMC-12 remains a standout among collector cars and continues to attract enthusiasts decades after production ended.

Powered by that rear-mounted V6 paired with a 5-speed manual transmission and Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, this DeLorean delivers a driving experience that reflects its engineering of the era. Additional features include four-wheel disc brakes, DMC door sill inserts, dual exhaust outlets, power windows, dual side mirrors with electric adjustment, air conditioning, and a center console layout focused around the driver.

The interior features front bucket seats, a three-spoke steering wheel, and practical storage space behind the seats. Exterior elements such as turbine-style alloy wheels, Fuzion tires, quad headlights, side marker lights, a front spoiler, black louvered engine cover, and the unmistakable grid-style taillights emphasize the futuristic design that set the DMC-12 apart when new.

Accompanied by a clean CARFAX report along with receipt copies and manufacturer’s literature, this example carries strong documentation to support its collector appeal. As one of the most recognizable cars in automotive and pop culture history, the DeLorean DMC-12 continues to hold a unique place in the market. This example presents an opportunity to acquire a well-equipped icon that remains mechanically sound.

Who was John DeLorean? John DeLorean was like a personification of the American Dream, his name synonymous with glamorous automobiles.

The son of a Ford foundry worker, handsome John DeLorean came from a working-class neighborhood in Detroit and rose rapidly at Chrysler, Packard and General Motors. 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’s stud-packed position in life had been accomplished with natural-born talent, hard work, and perseverance. Which is embedded into the very notion of the ever distinctive DeLorean car, 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 DeLorean’s company filed for bankruptcy and after total cars built reached about 9,000 units.

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 blighted by endemic unemployment.

Belfast was torn apart by the ‘Troubles’, a euphemism for a full-scale civil war between Catholics and Protestants. DeLorean’s factory was built between areas controlled by these two religious factions, obliging them to work together, a successful effort at integration. It was a 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, a true local hero.

Unfortunately it was not to last. The company turned out to be too underfunded. 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 then for a new Porsche model 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. All the people working in the DeLorean factory unfortunately lost their jobs.

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

But with the DeLorean DMC-12 he had made a masterpiece.

-Alex Manos, Owner