John DeLorean left General Motors to build his own car, and the factory near Belfast lasted barely two years. The three letters on its nose, DMC, became famous anyway.
- Country
-
United States - Active
- 1975
- Founded by
- John DeLorean
- Website
- Official website ↗
A GM rebel and his ethical sports car
Before he had his own name on a car, John Z. DeLorean was a star at General Motors. He served as chief engineer at Pontiac and is credited with helping develop muscle cars such as the GTO and the Firebird. Then he walked away to build something of his own.
The DeLorean Motor Company was founded in Detroit in 1975. It would only ever build one model, the DMC-12, and the three letters in that name are simply the company’s initials: DeLorean Motor Company.
Italian lines, British engineering, Belfast steel
The shape came from Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Italian designer behind concepts such as the Maserati Boomerang. According to Petrolicious, Giugiaro shipped the first styling model to DeLorean’s headquarters in July 1975. The bulk of the engineering was done in England by Lotus, under the direction of Colin Chapman.
In 1978 DeLorean signed a deal to build a purpose-built factory at Dunmurry, about six miles southwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Series production began there in 1981. The car wore an unpainted stainless steel skin over a fibreglass underbody, plus gull-wing doors that nobody could ignore.
The dream was short. In February 1982 the company was placed into receivership, and according to the Ulster Transport Museum, production at Dunmurry was shut down by the end of May 1982. Fewer than 9,000 cars were built.
Three letters that outlived the factory
The DeLorean logo is about as direct as a car logo gets. DMC stands for DeLorean Motor Company, written in stylised capital letters. We could not find an official explanation of the lettering or the name of its designer, so we won’t guess at one.
What is certain is that the letters became valuable long after the factory closed. Back to the Future turned the DMC-12 into a time machine in 1985, just three years after production ended, and the car appeared in all three films. Today the stylised DMC and DeLorean logos are registered trademarks of the DeLorean Motor Company in Texas.
A new company with an old name
The Texas company is a separate story. Stephen Wynne, a Liverpool-born mechanic who had specialised in DeLoreans in the United States, formed it in 1995. He needed a name, nothing stopped him from using the original one, and he even called John DeLorean, who wished him luck. In 1997 he bought the stock of original parts, and the business settled in Humble, Texas, near Houston.
The name led to a court fight with John DeLorean’s estate. In a 2015 settlement the estate pledged not to sue the company for using “DeLorean” and the “DMC logo”, as later described in a federal court ruling reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
In 2022 the brand showed a new face. The logo files published on delorean.com that June spell out DELOREAN in wide, evenly spaced capital letters, with an A drawn without a crossbar.
One car, one film, one comeback
Few car brands are defined by a single model. DeLorean is one of them, which makes its short list of milestones easy to follow.
Landmark DeLoreans, from sketch to EV
- 1975: Giugiaro styling model. According to Petrolicious, the first styling model reached DeLorean’s headquarters in July 1975, with fixed headlights instead of the pop-ups that were fashionable then.
- 1981: DMC-12. The company’s only production car, built at Dunmurry with stainless steel body panels and gull-wing doors.
- 1985: The time machine. A DMC-12 starred in Back to the Future, three years after the factory had stopped building cars.
- 2022: Alpha5. An electric concept with gull-wing doors, designed with Italdesign and given its global premiere at Pebble Beach in August 2022.
The DeLorean story crosses paths with several other badges on this site: General Motors, where John DeLorean made his name, Lotus, which engineered the DMC-12, and Maserati, whose Boomerang concept came from the same designer. For more on how badges are created, see how car logos are designed.
Frequently asked questions
What does DMC stand for on a DeLorean?
DeLorean Motor Company, the firm John DeLorean founded in 1975. The car’s model name, DMC-12, uses the same initials.
Where was the DeLorean built?
In a purpose-built factory at Dunmurry, on the edge of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Series production began in 1981 and ended in 1982.
Who designed the DeLorean DMC-12?
Giorgetto Giugiaro drew the shape. The engineering was largely done by Lotus in England, under Colin Chapman.
Is today’s DeLorean Motor Company the original one?
No. The original company went into receivership in 1982. The current DeLorean Motor Company was formed in Texas in 1995 by Stephen Wynne, who later bought the original parts stock and uses the DeLorean name and DMC logo.
Gull-wings to the Alpha5: the DMC logbook
- Founded
- 1975
- Founder
- John DeLorean
- Country
- United States
- Current emblem
- The stylised DMC initials; since 2022 also a widely spaced DELOREAN wordmark
- Known for
- The stainless steel, gull-winged DMC-12 and Back to the Future
- Status
- Revived
- Website
- Official website ↗
