I don’t know what to make of the upcoming Delorean Alpha5 EV Gullwing Coupe.
The first 88 units of the Alpha 5 “will serve as an avatar for an associated NFT, meaning they won’t be road-registered and suitable only for track use,” notes Autoblog, (with nary a WTF in sight). After that, we can expect a production run of road-legal cars.
The estimated specs appear solid:
-0-60: 2.99 seconds
-Top Speed 155 MPH
-Range: 300 Mile
-Battery 100 +kWh*
-Drag Co-Efficient: 0.23 CD
and for fans of the movie:
-0-88 in 4.35 seconds
But as Hannah Elliot recalls “This is the brand John DeLorean founded in 1975, which went bankrupt by 1982. The collapse was due to mismanagement, complaints about poor fabrication and lackluster performance—and the fact that its founder was charged with conspiring to smuggle 55 pounds ($24 million worth) of cocaine into the US. He was acquitted.”
Tech Crunch observes the brand “is owned by a Texas-based DeLorean restorer that bought rights to the brand in 1995 and appears to be focused on electric models.” I am not sure they have the ability to pull off making something as adventurous as the Alpha 5. John DeLorean was unable to make a go of it also.
No word on price, but rumors are ~$200,000. That is a lot of money for a start-up venture, and for that kush, I would be more comfortable with an established brand, say a Porsche Taycan Turbo S that costs less and comes with outstanding build quality but no gullwing doors.
Regardless, it looks beautiful and on paper, looks like a fast grand tourer. I hope DMC can pull this off and put out a quality product — or partner with someone who actually can…
Source: Car and Driver
Source: NPR
Source: Delorean
