Back to the Future: DeLorean says it’s coming back, and launches an auction

Sale features 40 NFTs, a restored original car and a top spot on the waiting list for new car

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DeLorean DMC-12
DeLorean hit a publicity jackpot when its DMC-12 was featured in the 'Back to the Future' movie | Petersen Automotive Museum photo

The reborn DeLorean Motor Company is staging an auction that features 40 NFTs — the hot new digital collectibles officially known as non-fungible tokens — but includes a restored original DeLorean DMC-12 and the pole position for the all-new DeLorean that the company says will be “launching soon.”

“From its rise and fall in the early ‘80s to its inclusion in Back To The Future, the DeLorean DMC-12 boasts one of the most storied histories of all time,” the company said in its news release. 

“This year marks the DeLorean’s 40th anniversary, and to celebrate, DeLorean Motor Company has partnered with acclaimed street artist  MadSteez  to create a revolutionary NFT series of 40 unique DeLorean 1-of-1 NFTs. The collection tells the year-by-year history of the car, highlighting notable years with accompanying one-of-a-kind physical items. 

“In addition to the 40 NFTs, the collection includes 2 special-edition NFTs with incredible physical utilities. The crown jewel of the collection is a Special Edition DeLorean 1-of-1 Anniversary Montage NFT that comes with a fully restored original DeLorean. In addition, the Special Edition 1981 DeLorean NFT will come with a spot atop the Delorean waiting list for the all-new Delorean vehicle launching soon.”

One of the 40 DeLorean NFTs

The NFTs are the work of MadSteez, born blind in his left eye and officially named Mark Paul Deren. DeLorean characterizes him as “a human color wheel spinning on overdrive.

“Currently based in Brooklyn, New York, his doodles and larger-than-life pop-soaked paintings, portraits & multi-layered, massive-scale murals have granted him worldwide appreciation by transforming blank canvases into a voyage of acidic cosmic explosions,” DeLorean Motor says.

DeLorean is among the new or resurrected car companies planning to produce as many as 350 vehicles a year under new NHTSA small-volume manufacturing guidelines.

While waiting for those guidelines to be finalized, DeLorean Motor announced plans to resume production in a facility near Houston, Texas, where the company houses thousands of leftover parts from the original DeLorean program. It also said it had produced two prototype vehicles for testing.

The restored DeLorean offered as part of the auction was done by Cameron Wynne, son of the former mechanic who purchased the assets of the former DeLorean Motor Company in bankruptcy in 1995.

2 COMMENTS

  1. I vividly recall the day I spotted a DeLorean parked at a car show. It instantly transported me back to the ’80s, and I couldn’t help but take a dozen photos. Hearing about its return gives me hope that younger generations will get to experience the magic of this iconic car too. Long live the DeLorean legacy!

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