The DeLorean DMC-12 was a unique sports car produced in limited numbers in the early 1980s. It featured gull-wing doors and a fiberglass underbody with stainless steel panels. A modified version became iconic as the time machine in the Back to the Future film franchise. However, the car suffered from cost overruns and delays getting to market. It also faced stiff competition from other sports cars and unrealistic sales projections hurt the company.

1. Rebecca Irvine

2.  The DMC-12 featured gull-wing doors with a
fiberglass "underbody", to which non-structural
brushed stainless steel panels were affixed.
 A modified version of the car became iconic for
its appearance as a time machine in the Back to
the Future film franchise.

3.  Limited number of cars produced, so was
unique.
 24-carat gold plated car was commissioned, with
only two created.
 The car gained a cult following after the release
of the 1985 movie 'Back to the Future' which
featured the car as a time-travel machine.

4.  Cost and time overrun in getting car to market. The car was pretty
much in a class of its own when proposed in the mid-1970’s, but both
Porsche, Mazda and Datsun had competitor cars on the road by
1981.
 A ‘visionary’ management style by John De Lorean. He lived the high
life and spent a lot of time away from Belfast, leaving the critical
development phase largely unmanaged, but had a visionaries belief
in his car and its appeal.
 The car had a stainless steel body, glass reinforced plastic under-
body, gull wing doors, and a 130 hp Renault engine. Critics still
described it as clunky, with no particularly special features, and the
initial few production cars has numerous failures and break-downs.
 Unrealistic expectations of market. De Lorean’s market projections
were for perhaps 12 000 cars a year, but buoyant initial sales led to
an upwards revising of production to 20 000 cars per annum. Sales
fell drastically in early 1982, as the sports car market could not
absorb so many highly priced vehicles.