Italdesign seemingly has big plans for the DeLorean DMC-12’s 40th birthday. The legendary Italian supercar customizer and designer behind the most powerful Nissan GT-R ever and the Lamborghini Huracan-based Zerouno roadster stirred up automotive social media channels by teasing a new take on the retro gull-wing coupe made famous by Back to the Future.
A split-screen image of the DeLorean at launch and the shadowy silhouette of Italdesign’s reinterpretation was posted on Instagram and Twitter with the following caption:
“DMC-12 turns 40 this year! This picture was shot on the 21st January 1981, when the very first production model was released. What a better way to celebrate an icon of automotive history than a sneak peek of the (near) future?
Stay tuned for more…”
On that cliffhanger, it’s time to speculate. The image featured both the Italdesign and DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) watermarks, indicating that this is an official collaboration.
Perhaps this is even the DeLorean return that’s been discussed since 2016, when DMC announced that a limited run of DMC-12s would be built under the Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act of 2015. The program allows small companies to produce up to 325 cars annually that don’t adhere to today’s federal safety regulations.
However, DMC originally promised that the stainless steel shell that made the vehicle an 80s icon would remain virtually unchanged, but underneath will be a modern 300- to 350-horsepower engine. The original Peugeot-Renault-Volvo-sourced V6 produced an underwhelming 130 horsepower, by comparison.
As instructed, we’ll stay tuned for further details about Italdesign’s DeLorean DMC-12.