NI DeLorean owner says fascination with famous car remains as figures reveal only 303 left on UK roads
Around 9,000 DeLorean DMC-12s rolled off the DeLorean Motor Company assembly line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, in 1981.
The company collapsed into insolvency the following year.
John DeLorean was then charged with drug trafficking in October 1982, but a jury found him not guilty in 1984, although his reputation suffered badly.
Currently, some 303 DeLoreans are taxed for use on public roads in the UK, according to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency figures obtained by online auction platform Collecting Cars.
However, Robert Lamrock, 71, of the DeLorean Owners Association, maintains that the car is still popular with the public in Northern Ireland.
'I take my car out and people are flashing their lights or tooting their horn at you,' he told the Belfast Telegraph.
'I've been to car shows where there's been Ferraris and Lamborghinis and the people all flock over to the the the DeLorean, because it's unique.'
He said he still senses a local 'pride' in the DeLorean in Northern Ireland, and credits the controversial owner with having the vision build the car how and where he did.
'John, despite all his errors, was a genius. The car was built around the needs and desires of the consumer, not the corporation.
'They were slightly too ambitious, in terms of trying to produce 20-30,000 when they were starting up.
'It was just unfortunate that there was a recession in 1981/82 and everything went pear-shaped.'
Back To The Future – which opened in cinemas in the summer of 1985 – catapulted DeLoreans into the public consciousness.
In the film, eccentric scientist Dr Emmett 'Doc' Brown creates a time machine from a modified DeLorean, using plutonium to power a fictional gadget called a flux capacitor which allows time travel once the car reaches 88mph.
Mr Lamrock says that DeLorean owners have 'not a thing' that unites them other than being 'passionate about the car.'
'There's no common theme. There's doctors, dentists, engineers. As time has gone on, the car has become much more expensive, so you don't find too many young kids that can afford it.'
Thinking about the appeal of the DeLorean, he also says: 'If you've got the money, you can put a Flux Capacitor on it and pretend you're Doc Brown and Marty McFly.'
According to the figures released, a further 114 of the cars have a statutory off road notification, meaning they are likely to be gathering dust in garages.
Collecting Cars estimates a fully restored version could fetch more than £80,000 at auction.
It has sold just two DeLoreans since it began trading in 2019.The most recent sold for £56,000 in 2022.
Collecting Cars chief executive Edward Lovett said: 'The DeLorean is an icon of pop culture which is still turning heads after all these years.
'A combination of their scarcity and the Back To The Future phenomenon has pushed prices higher than people might imagine.
'Back in 1981, the sticker price was around £18,000, making it more expensive than a Porsche 911.
'Today, a fully restored model treated to a film car replica conversion could attract bids in excess of £80,000.'
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