TIME MACHINES IN A TIMEWARP
De Loreans are rarely left to moulder, thanks to passionate owners who seem to cherish them, but recently Hemmings Daily contained not one but two 1981 DMC-12S, with sequential VIN numbers, that had just emerged from storage in Lake Elsinore, California, and were being offered for sale. One car had just 1623 miles on the clock and the other an incredible 14!
The seller’s father had previously been a Ford dealer in Orange County and had purchased the two cars as one lot from one of the sales held by Associated Industries, which bought the assets of the De Lorean Motor Company after it went under. It’s not known why, but the cars had been kept off the road in a barn ever since, nearly 40 years. The higher-mileage example was in the best condition, with minimal deterioration due to the dry storage conditions.
The other car had been used as a parts donor, presumably prior to sale. It was externally good, but inside missing much from the centre console, the door panels and one window glass. It was fitted with the correct Peugeot-renault-volvo V6, albeit not the unit it was built with.