The DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) was an American automobile manufacturer formed by automobile industry executive John DeLorean in 1975. It is remembered for the one model it produced—the stainless steel DeLorean sports car featuring gull-wing doors—and for its brief and turbulent history, ending in receivership and bankruptcy in 1982. In October 1982, John DeLorean was videotaped in a sting operation agreeing to bankroll drug trafficking, but was acquitted on the basis of entrapment.

The DeLorean was memorably featured in the Back to the Future film trilogy (1985, 1989, and 1990) as the model of car made into a time machine by eccentric scientist Doc Brown, although the company had closed down before the first film was made.

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Despite the car having a reputation for poor build quality and a less-than-satisfying driving experience, the DeLorean continues to have a strong following driven in part by the popularity of the Back to the Future movies. An estimated 6,500 DeLoreans are still on the road.

When details surrounding the DeLorean were first announced in the mid-1970s, there were numerous plans and rumors that the DeLorean would have many advanced features, such as elastic reservoir moulding (ERM), a unit construction plastic chassis, a mid-engine layout, airbags, 10-mph bumpers and Pirelli P7 tires; none of them would materialize in the production vehicle. Originally, the car was intended to have a centrally-mounted Wankel rotary engine. The engine selection was reconsidered when Comotor production ended and the favored engine became the Ford Cologne V6 engine.

The Ford V6 engine would soon be abandoned in favor of the complete drivetrain from the Citroën CX 2000 — deemed a more reliable choice. The 1,985 cc  I4 engine from Citroën was ultimately deemed underpowered for the DeLorean. When Citroën learned of DMC plans to turbocharge the engine, Citroën suggested that DMC find another engine. Eventually the fuel-injected V6 PRV engine (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) was selected. 

After several delays and cost overruns, production finally began in late 1980. Around this time DMC officially dropped the name DMC-12 on its now $25,000 car in favor of the model name DeLorean. The DeLorean sports car, as it was described in advertisements, began production in December 1980 with the first production car rolling off the assembly line on January 21, 1981.  In late December 1982 DMC filed for bankruptcy after total production reached about 9,000.

The body design of the DeLorean was a product of Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign and is paneled in brushed SS304 austenitic stainless steel. Except for three cars plated in 24-karat gold, all DeLoreans left the factory uncovered by paint or clearcoat. Painted DeLoreans do exist, although these were all painted after the cars were purchased from the factory. In order to train the workforce, a small number of pre-production DeLoreans were produced with fiberglass bodies and are referred to as "black cars" or mules.

Another distinctive feature of the DeLorean is its gull-wing doors. The DeLorean features heavy doors supported by cryogenically preset torsion bars and nitrogen-charged struts. The doors featured small cutout windows, because full-sized windows would not be fully retractable within the short door panels. Although early production cars had fitment problems due to faulty striker plates and issues with weather seals, these were tolerable because gull-wing doors allowed occupants to enter and exit the car in tight parking places as well as attracting attention from people nearby.

DMC's comparison literature noted that the DeLorean could achieve 0–100 km/h  in 8.8 seconds when equipped with a manual transmission. When equipped with an automatic transmission, the DeLorean would accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 10.5 seconds as tested by Road & Track magazine. The car's top speed was 175 km/h when tested by Road & Track magazine, described as "not quick for a sports/GT car in this price category."

Although there were no typical yearly updates to the DeLorean, several changes were made to the DeLorean during production. Instead of making changes at the end of the model year, DMC implemented changes mid-production. This resulted in no clear distinction between the 1981, 1982, and 1983 model years, but with subtle changes taking place almost continuously throughout the production run.

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The DeLorean is most notably featured as the time machine in the Back to the Future film trilogy. Six DeLorean chassis were used during the production, along with one manufactured out of fiberglass for scenes where a full-size DeLorean was needed to "fly" on-screen. Only three of the cars still exist, with one that was destroyed at the end of Back to the Future Part III, two additional cars were abandoned, and the fiberglass replica was scrapped. Universal Studios owns two of the remaining cars, occasionally putting them on display or using them for other productions. A fully restored Back to the Future DeLorean can be viewed at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

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Development was underway on the next car for DMC, the four-seater sedan. These ItalDesign sketches were kept for nearly 35 years by David Hargreaves, former DMCL employee. A full-size styling mockup was created, though when the final bill was never paid by DMCL, Giugiaro/ItalDesign modified it slightly, renamed it the Lamborghini Marco Polo and debuted it in 1983. It started out life in general terms as the Lancia Medusa in 1980, which didn't see the light of day despite causing quiet a stir at the time.

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One of the lesser-known projects of the DeLorean Motor Company was the proposed importation and introduction to the US-market of a small, four-wheel drive vehicle smaller than a truck or tractor but still big enough to do jobs on ranches, farms with potential recreational usage, as well. The DMC-44 was a proposal for a lightweight 4×4 off-road vehicle using the drivetrain and other components from the Polski Fiat 126p.  A tubular steel frame prototype was produced, and the company produced a promotional video to attract investors to the project. There would have been two versions; one a dedicated off-roader, the other road legal.

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The star of the Back to the Future series is going to shine again, without a doubt. To fuel our imagination and prep us all for the 2021 DeLorean DMC-12, designer Ángel Guerra has awe-inspired automotive design with his version of the DeLorean 2021. He summed up the motivation for this concept in his words – “This is a thank you to an icon and a movie that marked my childhood. This is, too, a new DeLorean for my son’s generation.” As his tribute to the iconic design, Ángel has mustered up this super dope DeLorean for the 40^th anniversary of the brand that captured the imagination of an entire generation. The gull-winged car has a lot of character – making it look nothing shy of a supercar of the current generation. Nothing is overdone and every little edge or curve seems well-thought-out. Perhaps, it comes from his culmination of childhood dreams and the subconscious desire to own a DeLorean one day. In fact, his automotive design journey was triggered by the dream-like cars of the 80s and the designs of the following decades.

After the passage of the Low Volume Vehicle Manufacturing Act, DMC Texas announced that it planned to produce replica DeLoreans. DMC anticipated building approximately 50 vehicles per year over six years with an estimated retail price of US$100,000. DMC Texas encountered hurdles such as reproducing parts no longer available from new old stock, and finalizing an engine supplier. In January 2021, the NHTSA issued a final ruling to allow low volume vehicle manufacturing.

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The new all-electric DMC revives the "Medusa" sedan concept that the original DeLorean Motor Company had started development on prior to the automaker going bankrupt in 1982. Though the Medusa, officially known internally as the DMC-24, was to have four independent gullwing doors, the DeLorean EV will instead feature two large electronically powered gullwing doors that each expose the first and second row of seating. 

The DeLorean EV is targeting a 100kWh battery pack that should provide north of 480 km of range and power a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup. It will accelerate from 0-96 km/h in 2.99 seconds, and 0-142 km/h (you know why!) in 4.35 seconds. The top speed is projected to be 250 km/h.

This new incarnation of DMC (which shares only the name with John DeLorean's original company) worked with Giorgetto Giugiaro's ItalDesign on the look of the new EV. ItalDesign also designed the original DeLorean.