After teasing its return during the Super Bowl back in February, DeLorean Motor Company debuted an illustration of the Alpha5 concept over Memorial Day weekend, an all-electric sports car that's on track for a public debut this fall.
The company, a rebirth of the original DeLorean name that went bankrupt in the 80s, holds onto some of its past for design inspiration while leaning on its partnership with Italdesign to modernize it.
Most notably, the blockiness of the original DMC DeLorean is gone, replaced with clean lines running from front to back for a more aerodynamic shape.
Thin headlights and an illuminated logo mark the front, with lines stretching from the outer edge of the headlights running to the back end of the doors.
It features two massive gullwing doors, which are large enough to encompass two rows of passengers. Toward the back, those lines seem to point inward, reaching a wide fender.
There aren't many finalized details yet on the Alpha5's motor, but the company says that it will come with a battery that's larger than 100-kilowatt-hours and have a range of more than 300 miles on a single charge.
With that setup, DeLorean expects a zero-to-60 miles per hour (mph) time of under three seconds.
On the inside, the company is stressing a cabin that strikes a balance "between artificial support and human control".
The center infotainment screen is smaller compared to some manufacturers, with much of the inside looking clean and futuristic sporting a white color scheme.
Sam Abuelsamid, a mobility research analyst at Guidehouse Insights, told Newsweek that a finished product creates more confidence than a rendering
"Based on the fact that all we've got is CGI renders, I would definitely consider this to be in the vaporware category until we see an actual running vehicle and get more detail on who's financing this boondoggle," he said. "I'm very skeptical that this will ever amount to anything."
He says that the proliferation of electric vehicle (EV) startups and legacy automakers releasing EV products make it more difficult for any company to stand out and win investment dollars, even if yours hearkens back to the time-traveling film franchise.
"It's going to be really hard for anybody," he said. I think perhaps the people behind this project see [the renderings] as a way to get some investors to put up some money, and in the worst case have some money to walk away from the project with."
Originally founded in 1975 by automotive executive John DeLorean, the company was meant to fight for market share against the likes of luxury makers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Making the cars with stainless steel body panels set it apart from the crowd, but that wasn't enough to keep it afloat.
After years of poor sales and legal issues, DeLorean folded in 1982. But the car found some cultural cache after being featured in the Back to the Future franchise, as a flying time machine.
In 1995, a company was formed in Texas that bought up the parts for all of the unmade Deloreans, producing them on an order basis. Earlier this year, the company announced that it would shift its focus into the production of electric vehicles.
DeLorean plans to unveil the Alpha5, and a number of other concepts, at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August this year.
