19k Mile 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 5-Speed
I don’t need to state what this car is. The mid-engine DeLorean DMC-12 is so iconic and recognizable by car enthusiasts that it needs no introduction. This car resides in Albany, New York. The seller has owned the car since 1986 and kept it original. The car appears to be in excellent condition and well-maintained. Most people refer to this car as a DMC-12 because that was the internal pre-production designation, but the DeLorean sales and marketing materials never used DMC-12 for the production model. The “12” in the DMC-12 designation was based on the target list price of $12,000. The eventual MSRP was $25,000.
The black interior looks to be in excellent condition except for some wear on the driver’s seat. The seller states that the driver’s seat has a tear and the headliner needs to be re-glued. The body was designed by Italian auto designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. All DeLoreans came paneled in SS304 austenitic stainless steel from the factory except for three gold-plated cars. The car has air conditioning, AM/FM stereo, and leather seats, as did most DeLoreans. The car is said to always have been garaged. Total production for the car was estimated to be between 8,500 and 9,600 units.
All DMC-12 cars left the factory with a 2.85 liter SOHC V6 engine that was rated at 130 horsepower and 153 lb-ft of torque. The engines were built by Peugeot-Renault-Volvo and shipped to the DeLorean plant, where the cars were produced. Most car enthusiasts were blown away by the looks of the car when it was introduced but disappointed with the performance of the underpowered engine. Many aftermarket suppliers have tried to improve the performance and some owners have done engine swaps. This car is said to have been well maintained with extensive updating performed last year to improve the driveability and replace old parts. The seller has invoices totaling $15,000 for this work.
A fun fact about these cars is that Johnny Carson invested $500,000 in the DeLorean Motor Company and drove one of these cars personally. He was later pulled over by the police in Southern California while driving his DMC-12 and arrested for DUI in 1982. This example is listed here on eBay with four days remaining. While the listing price is $59,000, the ad has the option to make an offer. What do you think this gull-winged machine is worth?
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Comments
Have never seen a DMC set up for off road work.
May just have overseas replacement springs – many cars on this site are similarly sitting too high. Try finding proper coil springs for a 1st gen camaro with 6 cyl & no a/c & no p/b.
Minor correction: these are rear-engine, not “mid-engine” as described in the writeup here. While DeLorean did originally intend for a mid-engined layout (engine in front of the rear axle), he ultimately had to switch to a rear-engined layout (engine behind the rear axle) as development progressed just to get the cars into production at all.
If it wasn’t for a movie these would have quietly disappeared and not too many people would have cared about them. But here we are all these years later and they still attract attention. I don’t get it as they did nothing well and poor John watched a dream die.
All the track prowess and amenities of a Fiero at ten times the price.
The Bricklin was in several movies, but many people think it’s a DeLorean – when they see the door(s) go up.
This looks like a great car, at a fair price. Sellers other items 0, sellers feedback 0.
In the very least, the pics were taken in late autumn. Its mid July here in Albany and all plants are flourishing.
My wife bought her dad’s DeLorean when, at 87, he decided it wasn’t reasonable to continue driving it. I’m a car guy, 27 years at GM and didn’t think much of it…but we’ve been driving it for 5 years now and I must admit that it grows on you: sufficient performance and handling given the age, unbelievable smile and thumbs up generator while driven, fairly available and affordable parts for such an “exotic”…turns out to be a cool ride!
It’s good to hear from someone who actually owns and drives a Delorean.
They’ve sold a LOT of these on BAT, and the average price is around 50K, so the ask on this one is not far off.
59K? Does it come with the Flux Capacitor?
Might as well pull over Johny ,no way to out run a cop with a Delorean.