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HomePick of the DayNo-mileage DeLorean DMC-12 should have bright future

No-mileage DeLorean DMC-12 should have bright future

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Editor’s note: November is Import Month on the ClassicCars.com Journal. Get all the news you could ever need about Italian, German, English, French, Japanese and lots of other cars at our dedicated page.

One might not think of the DeLorean DMC-12 as an import car, what with its creation by Detroit visionary John DeLorean and its Hollywood role as the time machine in the three Back to the Future films.

But an import it is, built in a Northern Ireland factory where around 9,000 of the stainless-steel, gullwing-door sports cars were produced between 1981 and 1983 by the DeLorean Motor Company, or DMC.

DeLorean
Gullwing doors are a special feature

The Pick of the Day is a remarkable example, a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 that essentially has never been driven, showing just 548 miles on its odometer, according to the Kentwood, Michigan, dealer advertising the time-warp survivor on ClassicCars.com.  Maybe an actual time machine?

This DeLorean, with a rare automatic transmission hooked up to its mid-mounted V6 engine, not only stands in showroom condition but has had extensive work done to get it back on the road after its decades-long slumber, the dealer says in the ad.

“This car came to us out of local long-term storage where it has seen only a handful of miles since new,” the ad reads. “The car is in excellent shape cosmetically, with clean stainless-steel panels free of dents, factory 14in alloy wheels with what are believed to be the original tires, excellent plastic and rubber trim.

DeLorean
The DeLorean has a mid-engine V6

“All of the lights, grilles, and unique trim piece are in excellent shape. The interior is in excellent shape and features black leather seats and all of the original equipment is present.

“The car has gone through an extensive reconditioning which includes rebuilding of all the brake calipers, master cylinder, brake-system reconditioning, full fluid flush, rebuild of fuel-injection system, new fuel pump, fuel-pump accumulator, spark plugs, and other miscellaneous lines and hoses.”

Despite its sheltered existence, the car does have something of a checkered past, the dealer notes.

DeLorean
The interior remains in factory condition

“Vehicle was originally out of the state of Nebraska where it was seized by the IRS for tax liens and then purchased by the 2nd owner who had a 40+ car collection and kept it in his storage facility for the past 18yrs and only driven twice, according to his surviving wife,” the dealer says. “He passed a few years ago and we were able to obtain the vehicle from his estate.”

Once again, the question arises: why own such a cool little car and not drive it?  In this case, no one will ever know.

The asking price for this unusual time machine is $54,900, which is near the top of the value range for a perfect car, which this one seems to be.

Or, as the seller aptly puts it, “The car is in running and driving condition and is ready to please its next owner, whether now or in the future.”

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.

 

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Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen is a longtime automotive writer and editor, focusing on new vehicles, collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. He is the former automotive writer and editor for The Arizona Republic and SPEED.com, the website for the SPEED motorsports channel. He has written free-lance articles for a number of publications, including Autoweek, The New York Times and Barrett-Jackson auction catalogs. A collector car enthusiast with a wide range of knowledge about the old cars that we all love and desire, Bob enjoys tinkering with archaic machinery. His current obsession is a 1962 Porsche 356 Super coupe.

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