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John Zachary DeLorean, a Romanian/American raised in Detroit. Employed by General Motors at 24 with a Masters Degree in Automotive Engineering and a Master of Science at 27. An Innovative genius credited with many patents still found on cars today. Living a high life with a high salary he had plastic surgery, dated celebrities and in 1973 left his $650,000 per year job to design & build his own “ethical” sports car and set up the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC).
DeLorean wanted his car to be free from planned obsolescence, safe, with low emissions, he dreamt of stainless steel & gullwing doors….. the DMC-12 was born. The model name was based on the fact that $12,000 was its originally intended retail price.
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The factory at Dunmurry near Belfast
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The test track adjacent to the factory at Dunmurry
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The Labour government financed his Dunmurry car plant to breathe new life into Northern Ireland. DeLoreans were produced at the factory between 1981 & '82. However, due to production issues & unexpected expenses, the car was being retailed at $25,000, twice the original price. Unfortunately, following over production, a US recession, the worst winter seen for 30 years (late ‘81 during peak production) and a change to a Conservative government, financing was pulled and the company hit trouble.
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Celebrating the 1000th car off the production line!
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An automated Tellus carrier on the factory floor
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As DeLorean was trying to source new funding he ended up in court in the US, accused of conspiring to deal $24m of cocaine to raise funds for his floundering company. He spent only 3 days held on remand, before being acquitted, arguing that the FBI had been guilty of entrapment). It turns out that on the day of his entrapment DeLorean’s people had been trying to get hold of him to tell him they had secured funds to save his company. After just 21 months in production, the factory closed and the company collapsed.
In 1999 he was declared bankrupt. After declaring bankruptcy in 1999, DeLorean said he wanted to produce a speedy plastic sports car selling for only $20,000.
John Zachary DeLorean died at the age of 80... He passed away at the Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey having suffered complications after a stroke .
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The double wish-bone chassis of the DMC-12 with the running gear mounted
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Underbodies on the production line
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DeLorean's stainless steel, gullwinged car, which bore his name, became more engrained in American culture after director Robert Zemeckis used a DeLorean as a time machine for Michael J Fox, in the popular 1985 film "Back to the Future" and its two sequels.
John Z. DeLorean, engineer, car maker and entrepreneur
6 January 1925 - 19 March 2005
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