After over forty years, the DeLorean DMC-12 has finally become what it had always promised to be, having failed miserably already at the time of its debut. We’re talking about a car with futuristic design that made people dream of performance worthy of its fame. But it definitely wasn’t enough in the eighties, also given the competition from certain names like Corvette, Lamborghini, and Ferrari.
DeLorean DMC-12 gets Ferrari V8 heart: 460HP supercar finally lives up to its promise
Having become legendary thanks to the Back to the Future trilogy, the coupé with gull-wing doors had become an icon of pop culture, but on the road, its performance was anything but dreamy. At the time of its debut in 1981, the DeLorean struck for its bold style thanks to its brushed stainless steel bodywork, futuristic shapes, and the famous vertically-opening doors. However, under the hood beat a modest 2.8-liter, 130-horsepower PRV V6, which guaranteed a 0-60 mph acceleration in over 10 seconds. Performance far from that of the sports cars of the era.
The high price, poor build quality, fragile commercial network, and legal troubles of founder John DeLorean soon led to the brand’s collapse, with only 9,000 units produced between 1981 and 1983. But today, in the United States, a team of specialists has decided to rewrite this automotive history.
The rebirth came thanks to FuelTech, an American company that recovered a DeLorean without an engine and transplanted the naturally aspirated 4.3-liter, 460-HP V8 from a damaged 2012 Ferrari California. To handle such power, the original chassis is reinforced and paired with KW suspension, aluminum control arms, rigid silent blocks, upgraded braking system, and high-performance Toyo R888 tires. The transmission is a six-speed Tiptronic gearbox, taken from a Porsche 911.
Presented as a preview at the prestigious SEMA Show 2024, this DeLorean is “reborn” as a true supercar, officially debuting on the road during the Caffeine and Octane gathering in Atlanta. It’s no longer just a “show concept”: now it’s a track beast, a retro supercar finally capable of making the asphalt tremble.
