The iconic car from 'Back to the Future' is going back into production on American soil
The DeLorean DMC-12, the iconic car made famous by the 1985 film "Back to the Future," is making a comeback.
The federal government approved a "low volume manufacturing bill" for the Texas-based Delorean Motor Company to start building new rides at its plant in Humble, Texas, KPRC reports.
"It's fantastic! It is a game changer for us," CEO Stephen Wynne told KPRC. "We've been wanting this to happen."
Wynne, a mechanic who has specialized in DMC-12s for decades, bought the rights to the DeLorean brand in 1995. Since then, DMC has offered parts, service, and sometimes rented out modified "time machine" DMCs for events.
Using authentic parts in his warehouse, Wynne estimates his company will build roughly 300 cars, with one completed car rolling out each week. He told NBC the new cars will cost just under $100,000.
Prototypes of the silver, two-seater sports cars with gull-wing doors first rolled off the line in Oct. 1976, and they had a limited production run up until 1982, when Delorean Motor Company declared bankruptcy. Though the company suffered numerous financial problems, its failure was accelerated by the arrest of company founder John DeLorean on charges of cocaine trafficking.
(DeLorean was caught on tape agreeing to bankroll a $24 million drug smuggling operation, but was found not guilty after his lawyers argued it was police entrapment.)
The first new-ish DeLorean should roll off the line in 2017, according to KPRC. If you can't wait until then, you can check out the company's refurbished models.