The DeLoreans That Didn't Happen
In the way of automotive biorhythm waveforms (Restorable, Memorable, Valuable) converging into constructive interference, DeLoreans have been showing up in the mass consciousness of late. Of course we have the Radwood effect making cars from the 1980s and 90s cool again, and few cars radiate Early 80s Rad like a DeLorean. Then, last June, we had the release of the slightly weird semi-documentary Framing John DeLorean. In November we got to see Leh Keen sending it on NBC Sports’ Proving Grounds and then Hagerty subsequently published a piece by long-suffering auto journalist Don Sherman revisiting the car by taking former DMC (and GM) engineer and designer Bill Collins’ 1982 DMC-12 for a spin.
Image: Proving Grounds (NBC Sports)
I think it’s worth pointing out that regardless of what you may think of John DeLorean and his various legal troubles you can still appreciate the car as a last hurrah of 1970s Italian wedge styling and as a representation of many, many people not named DeLorean trying extremely hard to make the company a success. Enough time has passed, approaching four decades now, that perhaps we can even separate the car and company from the pop-culture surrounding a well-known trio of films about time travel.
After production started in early 1981, DeLorean (the company) managed to build about 9000 cars over three model years (81-83) before flaming out in late 1982. All the cars were pretty similar, save for interior color (black or grey), transmission (5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic), and minor production changes that probably would have been sorted out previously if they’d had more time for development instead of frantically running towards production start as soon as humanly possible.
But let’s return to June 1981, before things started to go really, really wrong, and when DMC’s management could still plan for the successful future they hoped to achieve. Consider this an off-ramp from reality into speculative space. We know it looks like thanks to the efforts of numerous people trying to preserve history, some of which can be seen at the online DeLorean Museum, including a detailed long-range product plan stretching out over a number of years.
Image: Panasonic
As we slowly diverge from ugly reality with its poor sales, financial troubles, and drug busts our first stop is a refresh of the basic two-seat coupe (DMC-12) for the 1984 model year. The exterior would receive revised front and rear fascias, headlight washers would be added, and the exterior mirrors would be equipped with heat (“demist”). The rear louver panel would be deleted. The interior would become a bit more luxurious with power seats equipped with memory, a restyled steering wheel, improved lighting, and other small changes. The car would also get a digital trip computer. The original car has a standard single DIN car stereo in the center console but the refresh would delete that and install a ceiling mounted unit. The vendor isn’t mentioned but the ceiling-mounted Panasonic Cockpit stereo system was available and had been used in a special “Essex” edition of the 1980 Lotus Turbo Esprit, making it appear to be a likely choice. The original car was only available with an interior in black or grey but it’s well known that introduction of other colors was planned, including tan, blue, and burgundy, and those colors would likely have reached production by this time. (I’ll take mine in blue, please.) The car would also receive motorized seat belts. Mechanically, revisions were planned to improve fuel economy and increase capacity from the baseline 13.2 gallons. Finally, a design change was planned to address a significant flaw in the original car: the rear tires were too large to fit in the spare tire well, or even in the trunk.
Our next stop on this speculative path addressed a major complaint with the original car – poor performance. The naturally aspirated, 2.85 liter V6 only made 130 hp once it was federalized for US emissions requirements. These days you can buy tuning services and it’s common to find “Stage II” cars making about 190 hp. The car Leh Keen drove on Proving Grounds was one of those and without doubt the improved performance makes the car far better to drive.
1984 DMC-12 Turbo (Image: ItalDesign)
DMC was well aware of the car’s performance problems and their plan to fix it was turbocharging. The twin-turbo, twin-intercooled configuration was engineered by a company called Legend Industries. You can read more about their work at the web site of PJ Grady. Their setup made, according to rumor, somewhere around 200 horsepower. According to an article in the Winter 2006 issue of DeLorean World magazine, Marc Levy, the owner of a restored, super-rare Legend prototype, estimates his car makes about 230 hp with 8 lb of boost pressure. One source cites a 0-60 mph time of 5.8 seconds, which would be about right for a 200 hp car weighing 2700 lb and puts it on similar ground as a contemporaneous Porsche 911 SC. As the product plan states, “Inclusion of a turbo charged option in the product range is considered necessary for the company to match the product offerings of its major competitors.” The production turbo car would also get improved engine and transmission cooling, better tires, better brakes, revised suspension, a boost gauge, and minor exterior and interior styling changes to differentiate it from the non-turbo model including small inlet scoops. As with the refreshed naturally aspirated car, production of the turbo was planned for the 1984 model year.
There’s one last stop on this speculative timeline before it disappears completely into the unknowable fog and that’s the DeLorean sedan for the 1985 model year, the so-called DMC-24.
Lancia Medusa Concept (Image: ItalDesign)
The two-seat DMC-12 we all know was primarily styled by Gioretto Giugaro of ItalDesign and was based, according to Petrolicious, on Giugaro’s earlier 1970 Porsche Tapiro concept. In the same way, Máté Petrány previously reported on Jalopnik that the DMC-24 sedan was to be based on Giugaro’s 1980 Lancia Medusa concept. The Medusa was a very smooth, aerodynamic four-door design with four conventionally hinged doors but in DMC-24 form it was revised to feature two large gullwings. After the collapse of DMC the car was pitched to Lamborghini as the Marco Polo although it never went into production. That’s why pictures of the styling mockup usually have Lamborghini badging.
Lamborghini Marco Polo Concept (Image: ItalDesign)
Mechanically, the sedan would have been conceptually similar to the coupe with a metal chassis topped by a glass-fiber reinforced plastic (GRP) body skinned with stainless steel panels. Engines, naturally aspirated and turbocharged, and transmissions, 5-speed manual and 3-speed automatic, would be shared with the coupe and would again be rear-mounted. Varying from the coupe’s convention steel, the frame was envisioned to be a mix of aluminum and stainless steel. The wheelbase would be about 15 inches longer than the coupe to accommodate the rear passengers.
The drivetrain would feature cylinder cut-out to reduce fuel consumption, anti-lock brakes, digital cruise control, and self-leveling suspension. Built-in, power-operated jacks, one per side, would assist with tire changing. You’d know you have a flat because of built-in tire pressure monitoring. Tires may have used run-flat technology. Headlights would pop-up, although you could flash-to-pass with them stowed, and would have washers. Fog lights would help light the way in poor weather.
Inside, the driver would face a comprehensive instrument cluster with digital secondary instruments designed to fade out when not required, similar to SAAB’s “Night Panel” technology from the mid-1990s. Those secondary instruments may have even been projected instead of being displayed directly. You’d know to check them because audible tones would alert the driver of a mechanical problem. A digital trip computer would assist the driver with fuel planning. For improved visibility, the instrument cluster itself would pivot up and down with the steering wheel as in the Porsche 928.
Comfort features would include power windows and doors and power seats with memory. That memory function would be triggered by an “ID card” associated with the driver, akin to the way more modern cars can adjust presents based upon which key is being used. The seats would also be heated, cooled, and have adjustable lumbar support. A built-in telephone and CB radio would provide for communications on the move. Passengers would enjoy a sunroof over the rear seat and cold beverages from the on-board refrigerator. A fitted first aid kit would be available in case the trip suddenly becomes less enjoyable.
It all sounds great but also hopelessly optimistic. This wishlist is far short of a realistic product development plan, and many of those features are very advanced for a 1980s car from, let’s be honest, a very, very small manufacturer. This being 1981, the V-8-6-4 engine had just become available on Cadillacs but even mighty GM couldn’t get it to work right and promptly discontinued the technology.
Realistically, if reality had bent in this direction, the car would probably be significantly compromised from this vision into something more viable that the company could afford to develop roughly on schedule and budget. That would be fitting, given that the DMC-12 coupe also evolved significantly from its initial concept. It’s not hard to imagine the more advanced technological and even silly features, like the built-in jacks and refrigerator, being deleted. The car would likely be significantly heavier than the coupe, making the naturally aspirated 130 horsepower engine even less appropriate for a premium product, so the turbo engine may have become standard. That said, even the more realistic car would still have been very unique in the market, very futuristic for 1985, and very much fitting with the DeLorean brand. It’s too bad we’ll never know how it would have turned out.
