After about four years of hard work by John DeLorean, Bill Collins, Giugario and a few others, a stunning Stainless Steel Prototype emerged in 1977. Sometimes referred to as the DSV - DeLorean Saftey Car, some of the initial financing came from AllState Insurance as the car boasted many saftey features, like side impact protection, drivers airbag, rear engined (the front was then designed to absorb impact forces in a crash), 15mph reformable bumpers, and push out glass on the side windows. It was constructed from high-tech materials - ERM (Elastic Resevoir Moulding) for the inner body tub, which was very strong while also very light. Stainless Steel body panels and front/rear subframe - making the car virtually rustproof, so that owners would not need to buy another car in 2 years time. John was protesting at what he called "planned obsolesence" in this regard. The gullwing doors were also revolutionary, using a cyrogenically twisted torsion bar to counteract the weight of the gullwings. And it looked amazing!

Notice the differences between the prototype and the production DeLorean - bigger wheels, 2" higher roofline, sliding windows, Citroen 4 cylinder engine is mid-engined, no louvers, no storage room behind seats, hood hinges at other end, interior is much more old fashioned looking!

The DeLorean production car that emerged 4 years later looked similar (except where noted above). However it was completely different under the skin - the ERM and front and rear subframes had been scrapped by the Lotus engineers, and replaced with GRP (Glass Re-enforced Plastic) and a backbone chassis. This added a considerable amount of weight to the car. Citroen had at this stage backed out of a deal to supply the engines for DMC, so John went looking for an off the shelf, relaible powerplant which had already passed the stringent US emissions laws. He settled with a Renault 174cid (2849cc) 90 degree V-6. Due to the size of this engine, it had to be placed behind the rear axle.

Early reports complained of the cars performance, 0 to 60 took about 9.5 seconds, and the top speed was about 115mph. John immediately set to work deveolping a twin turbo version of the engine through Legend Industries. The result was very encouraging - it had about 200bhp, 0 - 60 now took about 5 seconds, and the top speed was over 140mph! Unfortunately the company closed before this option could be offered. Some DeLorean owners later retrofitted a similar twin turbo design to their engines.

Another option John was developing before the plant closed was a method of painting the cars (in association with DuPont). DeLoreans can look very nice when painted, but some colors do not suit its contours, like white or blue. Personally I think you can't beat the bare Stainless Steel Look!

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More to come soon...

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