Any child of the 80s is familiar with the DeLorean, the iconic sports car featured in the “Back to the Future” trilogy. These films focus on a time-traveling teenager named Marty McFly and his friend and scientist, Doc Brown, as they use a DeLorean-turned-time-machine to visit the past and future.
While the car is well-known because of these films, it was only sold from 1981-1983 in real life.
Now, the DeLorean is coming back with four models, including the flagship Alpha5, and some new features of which Marty and Doc could only dream. Here’s a look at what’s new in the 2022 DeLorean.
The original DeLorean was known for its gullwing doors that open upward, and the new version, the Alpha5, will have the same iconic attribute. It will also have some updated features to ensure it fits the modern concept of the automobile.
It’s an electric car
In a way, the original DeLorean was an electric vehicle, at least in the “Back to the Future universe.” The car utilized a flux capacitor and required 1.21 gigawatts of power to time travel. While Doc designed the time machine to use plutonium to generate that power, he harnessed the energy from a lightning bolt at the end of the first movie to initiate the process.
The new DeLorean won’t require harvested lightning energy to function, but it is a fully-electric sports car aiming to compete with more established brands like Tesla and Audi. The vehicle is aiming to offer at least 300 miles of driving range. However, buyers should note that the car isn’t a hypercar and, therefore, it won’t perform like the electric offerings from Porsche or Ferrari.
It’s getting a modern makeover
As you might expect, the new DeLorean won’t look exactly like the final model released in 1983. It doesn’t have a stainless steel body like the original, nor does it feature its boxy 1980s look.
Instead, the Alpha5 is meant to feel like a natural continuation of the brand. The car looks how the vehicle would probably appear if new releases had occurred every year between 1983 and today, as the appearance surely would have evolved over the years.
It’s sleek and stylish, much like you’d expect from a 2022 sports car, while following the basic layout of the original. It also has a two-tone body finish, horizontal slats across the rear window, and a thin LED light bar across its back end, all of which add to ’its unique style.
The car’s performance
One of the main concepts from the “Back to the Future” movies is that the DeLorean time machine must reach 88 miles per hour to make time travel possible. Naturally, the heroes encounter problems along the way, forcing them to get creative as they try to attain this speed.
The modern DeLorean will have a battery pack with more than 100-kWh capacity. While that’s significantly less than 1.21 gigawatts, it’s enough to help the vehicle reach a top speed of 155 miles per hour. This speed would be more than enough for the movies’ time travel, although you should note that the Alpha5 doesn’t have the flux capacitor to make it all possible.
A look at the interior
The time machine DeLorean included some authentic futuristic concepts, such as the center-console display device. In the movie, this display was divided into three sections: current time and date, destination time and date, and last time and date departed. It’s one of the devices that made time travel possible and is integral to the plot of the films.
While the modern DeLorean’s display screens won’t help you move to another point in history, the vehicle has an infotainment system like most modern cars. Features include a GPS that will help you get to where you need to go, although you’ll have to stay in the same time period.
Buying a new DeLorean
The DeLorean Alpha5 will become available for purchase in 2024, although limited numbers will be available. We don’t know if this version will have more success than its predecessor, but it’s a situation worth monitoring for the nostalgia factor.
Will you look into buying a new DeLorean when it’s available to the general public? Let us know in the comment section below, and remember to share this post with the “Back to the Future” fans in your life!
My son loves cars and would be so interested. We grew up watching Back to the Future numerous times. He has owned four different cars since he was 16 yrs old and wants to trade in his 2008 Dodge Charger SRT. (It’s a gas guzzer). What would the gas mileage be?
Can’t wait to see it.