"Back to the future with a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12

- A highly original DeLorean with 1st purchase invoice!
- Only 16,713 MLS
- Stainless steel bodywork
- Automatic transmission
- Very rare car with original owners manual.

A total of about 9,170 DeLorean's were produced across 3 model years and 2 calendar years.

The first DeLorean's came off the production line in March 1981, but this (pre)series was mainly to train the staff. Real production got under way later in 1981, and that is when most DeLoreans were produced: according to Knut Grimsrud of DMC-news, ca. 6,640 were launched in 1981. In 1982 ca. 1,280 and 1983 ca. 1,250 (total 9,170).

In 1984, the DeLorean was again brought to attention, by featuring as a time machine in the film trilogy "back to the future". This revived worldwide interest in the brand. Everyone wanted such a futuristic car, which could also travel through time.

A 2.8-litre V6 provided the drive. It produced 132 hp at 5,700 rpm and 235 Nm of torque. The car could reach 177 km/h. The sprint from 0 to 100 km/h was in 10.5 seconds.

The bodywork was sleek, flawless and scratch-free. The doors, sills, mudguards, bonnet and boot lid have correct fits.
The sheet metal is in very good condition. The DeLorean we offer has belonged to a true enthusiast, who has kept all invoices and documentation. A well-stocked history folder is present.

The black leather interior is in very nice condition. The dashboard is also still original and not torn. The windows are still original and all still have the 'DMC' logo.

If you are a DeLorean enthusiast looking for an original car, this is your chance.

Additionally, the extensive story of the previous owner:

Recent history
VIN #4038 was originally delivered to the first owner in Ohio in the US, but was bought back in 1990 by a Belgian student, Christophe Moerman, who was studying in Boston. He bought the car from the first owner with just 11,000 miles. The car was shipped directly from Boston to Antwerp to his parents. Where the Delorean stayed for about 20 years. The Belgian student emigrated to the US in 2010 and took the car back to the US, which at the time marked the third crossing of the Atlantic. When he moved to Hawaii several years ago, he decided to sell the car in 2017 and shipped it from California to Belgium; the fourth crossing. Christophe's father was now too old to drive the car properly, so it was decided to sell the car over two decades of ownership to DeLorean Europe in the Netherlands. There, the car was bought by me in 2019.
Ed Uding of DeLorean Europe, before the car was delivered to me, at my request, first carried out a
series of upgrades to ensure that it was a safe and reliable car that I could use at any
be able to drive to the other side of the country at any time without any gut feeling. These
upgrades were:
 replacement of the trailing arm bolts. These are the bolts that attach the rear suspension
is attached to the chassis, and a well-known weak point of DeLoreans. The original bolts are
not designed to last >40 years and could deflect or in the worst case even
break, causing the entire rear suspension to break. The bolts were replaced with
Inconel ones, which are many times stronger than the original ones.
 The cooling system has been upgraded. The car has the engine at the back and the radiator at the front, making
DeLoreans are known to overheat quickly. An additional problem with this is that the
electric cooling fins of the original radiator draw a lot of current, which means that when stopped for long periods of time with the
standing still with the engine idling, such as in a traffic jam, the battery could be drained
drawn by the rotating cooling fins. This was solved by installing a new
aluminium radiator with a high cooling capacity combined with new efficient cooling fins
which put much less pressure on the electrical system. You can now drive in summer with the aircon and the
radio on, you can now drive in traffic jams without overheating the car or draining the battery.
At the same time, all the hoses and pipes of the cooling system were also replaced and a new stainless steel
header bottle (coolant reservoir). Originally, these reservoirs are plastic and they
break down sooner or later. Most DeLoreans run with a metal reservoir.
 The fuel hoses have been replaced. The Bosch K Jetronic fuel injection system is under
a pressure of up to 5 bar. The original hoses become dry and porous after a long time, creating the risk
of tearing. Over the years, many DeLoreans have unfortunately burnt out because too long
with the original fuel hoses. On this car, all flexible
fuel hoses have been replaced with stainless steel braided ones.
 The suspension has been addressed. First, new shock absorbers were fitted on all wheels
and the front springs have been replaced, giving the car better stance. The weight distribution
of a DeLorean is 65% rear and 35% front, but for cost-saving reasons the same springs were originally fitted at the front and
the same springs were originally fitted at the front and rear, giving the front a higher position than the rear.
With the new springs, the car got the stance as it was originally intended
was intended. Finally, so-called lower control arm supports were fitted to the front suspension.
were fitted to the front suspension. The DeLorean's steering gear contains a design flaw that caused both
front wheels tend to steer slightly inward under heavy braking and outward under
acceleration outwards, resulting in unstable handling. The fitted
reinforcement brackets stabilise the steering gear for significantly more stable handling.
 The transmission governor, the computer that controls the automatic gearbox, has been
replaced by a digital one. This makes shifting gears smoother and smoother. This
digital unit is built into the housing of the original governor, thus maintaining its originality.
maintained. I replaced the radio with a Retrosound one. This is a radio with the look of
the original Craig radio that came standard in all DeLoreans, but with Bluetooth,
DAB+, etc.
 Two years ago, the wheels were professionally powder coated.
Because of these upgrades during my four years of ownership, I have not had any significant
problems. At some point, I noticed some vibration in the steering wheel during braking. I then
replaced the brake discs and pads and that solved it. At the last MOT in November 2022
the car was rejected because the intensity of the rear lights on the left and right were not equal and because
the handbrake did not work adequately. The rear light units were therefore replaced with LEDs and the
handbrake pad was renewed. Then the car passed the MOT without any problems. This spring, I noticed
that the pulleys for the belts of the A/C compressor and alternator were starting to make noise. The
bearings in the pulleys were replaced and with that the engine ran quietly again. Finally, the valuer noted
during my last valuation last year noted that the rear tyres were now 20 years old. There was still
profile, but I still had two new rear tyres fitted a month ago.
And since I was with Ed anyway, he filled up the air conditioning at the same time.