The DeLorean DMC-12 is a sports car that was originally manufactured in Northern Ireland by the DeLorean Motor Company for the American market in 1981-1982. It is most commonly known simply as the DeLorean, as it was the only model ever produced by the company. The DMC-12 featured gull-wing doors with a fiberglass "underbody", to which non-structural brushed stainless steel panels were affixed. A modified version of the car became iconic for its appearance as a time machine in the Back to the Future film franchise. The first prototype appeared in March 1976, and production officially began in 1981 at the DMC factory in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. During its production, several features of the car were changed, such as the hood style, wheels and interior. The body design of the DMC-12 was a product of Giorgetto Giugiaro of Ital Design and is panelled in brushed SS304 stainless steel. Except for three cars plated in 24-karat gold, all DMC-12s left the factory uncovered by paint or clearcoat. Painted DeLoreans do exist, although these were all painted after the cars were purchased from the factory. Several hundred DMCs were produced without stainless panels, for training workers, and are referred to as "black cars" or "mules", in reference to their black fiberglass panels instead of stainless, though these were never marketed. Small scratches in the stainless steel body panels can be removed with a non-metallic scouring pad, or even sandpaper. The stainless steel panels are fixed to a glass-reinforced plastic monocoque underbody. The underbody is affixed to a double-Y frame chassis, derived from the Lotus Esprit platform. John DeLorean had originally envisioned that the car would produce somewhere around 200 horsepower, but eventually settled on a 170 horsepower output for the engine. However, United States emissions regulations required that parts such as catalytic converters be added to the vehicle before it could be sold there. This caused a 40 horsepower reduction to the vehicle's power output, a loss which seriously impeded the DMC-12's performance. The DMC-12 was featured and mentioned in many films and on television, most notably as the time machine designed by Dr. Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy. Brown's rationale for choosing the DeLorean was stated in the first film: "The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style? " Doc also started to say something about the stainless steel construction being ideal for "flux dispersal", but he was cut off by the time machine's arrival. The choice of the DeLorean was actually for the purpose of a gag in the film that occurs when the car arrives in the year 1955 and is mistaken for an alien spacecraft due to its resemblance to the picture on the cover of the farmboy's comic book, as well as for its gull-wing doors. Six DMC-12s were co-opted for use in the making of the films. The DeLorean time machine has been considered an iconic feature in American film history and American pop culture as a whole. Over 9,000 DMC-12s were made before production stopped in late 1982. Today, about 6,500 DeLorean Motor Cars are believed to still exist. DMC Houston announced on July 30, 2007 that the car would be returning into very limited production, about 20 cars per year, in 2008. The newly produced cars would have a base price of $57,500 and have new stainless steel frames and lighter fiberglass underbodies, with optional extras such as GPS, an enhanced "Stage 2" engine, and possibly a new modern interior. The cars would be made with 80% old parts and the rest new. [READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE]
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