The DeLorean DMC-12 an Iconic Movie Star to be sold at Auction

An original 1981 DeLorean DMC-12, one of the only 9000 units made by the visionary automotive engineer and designer Johan DeLorean in the early 80s to fulfill his dream of building the perfect car, will be for sale at Leland Little auction house, Hillsborough USA, during their Important Fall Auction on the 22 September 2018 as Lot 146

Details of the DeLorean DMC-12 to be sold at Leland Little Important Fall Auction

This rare and iconic car model, immortalized in the movie  “Back to the Future” of 1985, as Doc's time machine, recently rose to new fame as the movie "Driven" was presented in world-premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 8th, 2018.

Back view of the DeLorean DMC-12 model. Lee Pace and Jason Sudeikis at the Venice Film Festival 2018 for the world premiere of Driven

Starring Hollywood stars as Lee Pace (John DeLorean) and Jason Sudeikis (Jim Hoffman), the FBI informant that is the undoing of John DeLorean’s career, and superbly directed by Nick Hamm,“Driven” is inspired by the true story of the meteoric rise and fall of the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) following the suspected implication of DeLorean in a drug deal while attempting to save his company from bankruptcy. Subsequently acquitted of all charges brought against him by the FBI, he was nevertheless unable to save the DMC which closed its manufacturing plants in 1982, barely two years after the first car was released.

The model to be sold at auction on September 22nd was purchased in 2003 from the newly reformed DeLorean Motor Company in Texas, which has bought up the stock of unused parts from when the DeLorean plant was shut down ("new old stock") and is using them to restore the original vehicles. This car has been modified to include Stage II engine upgrades and high-performance suspension, which as Mark Terry, Leland Little Estate & Collector Vehicles Director notes, "are the things that this car lacked during its production run from 1981-82." It has only 27,000 miles.

Annick Kuijpers and Lot-Art.com CEO Francesco Gibbi at the Venice Film Festival for the world premiere of Driven on September 8th, 2018

The DeLorean story starts in the early 70's, when John DeLorean, who rocketed through the ranks of General Motors, setting records as the youngest-ever division head of a major automobile company and leaving designs like the Pontiac GTO, Firebird and Chevy Vega in his wake, started to chafe against the corporate conservatism of GM. DeLorean had already started to cultivate his cult of personality, investing in professional sports teams, befriending celebrities, and generally scandalizing the stuffier executives at GM. So in 1973 DeLorean left GM to start his own car company.

The trajectory of the DeLorean Motor Company is that of a grand idea that outpaced its own financial footing. The money could never quite catch up with the plan. DeLorean first funded the company with $175 million he raised from famous friends like Sammy Davis Jr. and Johnny Carson. He built his plant in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland because the Northern-Irish government gave him a large sum towards its development. He enlisted one of the most famous car designers, Giorgetto Giugiaro, to come up with the wedge-shaped, stainless steel design and was off to the races.

Details of the DeLorean DMC-12 to be sold at Leland Little Important Fall Auction

DeLorean marketed the car to the hilt, even promising to make 100 24-karat gold-plated models (he made four, they actually exist). But the production of the cars kept running into roadblock after roadblock. By the time the cars came to market, they cost far more than the intended $12,000 sticker price (hence the DMC-12 model name), and the company was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Next up, the scandal that ended it all. With his company nearing financial collapse in 1982, DeLorean took a meeting with a mysterious potential investor that turned out to be an FBI sting operation. DeLorean was accused of trying to traffic cocaine to fund his car company. The British government shut down the Northern Ireland plant while DeLorean was still on the plane back home. John DeLorean was acquitted in 1984, the FBI case against him having been deemed entrapment, but it was far too late for the DMC-12.

Thanks to movies like the Back to the Future trilogy and the newly released Driven, the DMC-12 can take its place alongside James Bond's Aston Martin as one of the cars embedded in the popular consciousness. We love these cars because we love the stories in which they figure. 

Actors and director of Driven at the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival on September 8th, 2018

Lot-Art offers direct links to the most reputable auction houses worldwide to easily browse through all sales from a single portal. Join us to Buy Everything you Like Anywhere it's Sold at the Best Price!

The LOT-ARTeam

LOT-ART | Worldwide Auctioning Made Easy