DeLorean shows its new Alpha 5 and also announces some technical data. And the model is just the beginning.
Technically underdeveloped, much too lame for a sports car and a catastrophe in terms of quality, it still had style - and that's why the DeLorean DMC-12 hasn't been completely forgotten to this day. The car gained popularity in the 1980s as a time machine in the science fiction trilogy "Back to the Future" - which young people hardly know anymore.
There were always rumors about a new DeLorean. After all, the DeLorean Motor Company continued to exist as a start-up - the company lived from the sale of spare parts and from replicating the DMC-12. In 2009 there were rumors that the DeLorean Motor Company would buy the Kappa platform from GM. The Pontiac Solstice, the Saturn Sky, the Opel GT and the Daewoo G2X, among others, are based on this platform. With the phasing out of the Kappa platform at GM, there were apparently efforts by the DeLorean Motor Company to make the Pontiac Solstice, which differs most visually from the other Kappa derivatives, a new DeLorean model. That didn `t work. At the end of 2020, the Spanish ex-Rimac designer Angel Guerra proposed a new futuristic DeLorean . And now DeLorean is finally showing its latest model, the Alpha 5.
Alpha 5 as a starting model
The Alpha 5 is an electrically powered sports car that is said to have very decent driving performance. DeLorean boss Joost de Vries (previously head of service at Tesla and head of sales at Karma) promises a performance like that of a Mercedes-AMG GT or a Porsche Taycan Turbo, but at the same time the car should be intended for a larger group of customers and Don't mess with a Tesla Model S Plaid when it comes to peak performance.
Streamlined electric athlete
The Alpha 5 is said to sprint from zero to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) in 3.0 seconds. And with a wink, DeLorean also states the sprint time at 88 miles per hour (142 km/h), after all, that is the speed at which time travel was possible in the film "Back to the Future". The Alpha 5 is ready for time travel after 4.4 seconds. The absolute top speed is 155 miles per hour (249 km/h). So far, all the data has only been estimated - including that for the battery's energy content and range: 100 kilowatt hours should be able to be stored in the battery, and DeLorean specifies a range of 300 miles (483 kilometers). The car slips through the wind with a good drag coefficient of 0.23.
Long and flat
DeLorean is now also announcing the dimensions of the Alpha 5 designed by Italdesign Giugiaro: The gullwing is five meters long, 2.04 meters wide and 1.37 meters flat. Its wheelbase is 2.3 meters.De Vries points out that the Alpha 5 will be made in Italy, with significant parts of the powertrain arguably made in the UK. The first thing to come onto the market is a launch edition – the number of pieces is limited to the magical time travel number of 88. The launch edition is said to be not street legal, but only suitable for racetracks. In addition, the first customers get their cars in the form of an NFT (Non-Fungible Token). For example, NFTs can be digital images that exist only once in their original form. Such works of art are verifiably assignable to an owner. In the case of the Alpha 5, the NFT is said to be a digital replica of the car. The launch edition is said to be followed by road-legal models.
Huge gullwing doors - small screens
Access to the four-seater interior seems comfortable on the Alpha 5 because of the large gullwing doors front and rear. The driver looks through the steering wheel, which is flattened at the bottom, at an instrument display – there is no double display or even a continuous screen area from right to left in the Alpha 5, which is apparently designed more for driving than for entertainment. Above the center console is a fairly compact-looking infotainment screen - DeLorean has not yet announced the inch sizes of the displays.
V8 combustion engine, e-sedan, hydrogen SUV
After the Alpha 5, DeLorean would like to start with other models, from which the manufacturer expects larger sales volumes. A sports coupé is planned next – with a V8 engine. Apparently, the DeLorean managers see a larger clientele for a new sports car with a V8 combustion engine. A purely electrically powered sedan and a hydrogen-powered SUV are also planned. This SUV, like the Alpha 5, is scheduled to be on display at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on August 18, 2022. On its website, DeLorean has provided the names Alpha, Alpha 2, Alpha 3 and Alpha i5 as names for its future models, but without assigning these names to a specific concept.
Production from 2024
In order to finance further development and the establishment of production, DeLorean would like to go public - perhaps as early as summer 2022. Production of the Alpha 5 is scheduled to begin in 2024. Only 4,000 vehicles are planned spread over five years. Interested parties can already reserve the car via the DeLorean website - but the prices are not yet known.
Conclusion
This time it seems to be working: Apparently there is actually a successor to the DeLorean DMC-12 from 1981. While the old model was technically a massive disappointment and only impressed with its Giugiaro design, the Alpha 5 is said to be purely electrically powered Be a sports car that sprints to 100 km/h in three seconds.It is therefore significantly more potent than its weak predecessor and should also be technically more reliable - if DeLorean actually manages to start production.
