Latest / BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show / TL:DR - Retro Test Drive, DeLorean DMC-12

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TL:DR - Retro Test Drive, DeLorean DMC-12 · BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show

• 0:00
  Grand Touring Motorsports started as a social group of car enthusiasts,
• 0:04
  but we've expanded into all sorts of motorsports disciplines, and we
• 0:08
  want to share our stories with you.
• 0:10
  Years of racing, wrenching, and motorsports experience brings
• 0:13
  together a top notch collection of knowledge and information
• 0:17
  through our podcast, Brake Fix.
• 0:22
  Hey everybody, Crew Chief Eric here, and today we're going to cover my retro
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  test drive entitled Hello from 3900.
• 0:32
  Every car community has something unique about it, and the VAG, or Volkswagen Audi
• 0:36
  Group, and Porsche folks are not alone in the ideology of naming their cars.
• 0:42
  But it's a foregone conclusion that if you meet a Volkswagen
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  owner, their car has a name.
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  However, in the special sect of DeLorean DMC 12 owners, they refer to
• 0:51
  each other much like guests of Mark Green's Cars Yeah, by their number.
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  In the case of DMC 12 owners, it's more specifically by the
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  last four digits of their VIN.
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  And if you spend any time on their forums, you'll see usernames and salutations
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  as simple as, Hello, from 3900.
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  For this particular retro test drive, I found myself in the great state
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  of Texas, on business, with some extra time to visit with friends.
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  With a lot of hand wringing on the part of Don Wieberg from Garage Dom Magazine, he
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  relented and was willing to let me spend a few hours with his prized, all original,
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  1981 DeLorean DMC 12, VIN number 3900.
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  Don reminded me often that I was one of the few folks that has driven this car in
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  its entire 42 years of being on the road.
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  So be careful with it.
• 1:40
  Alright, I got this.
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  As we got in the car, I asked him, No full send?
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  Good luck, he muttered.
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  Challenge accepted, I grinned.
• 1:49
  Driving a hero car is very different than just your ordinary test drive.
• 1:54
  But first we have to answer the question, What exactly is a hero car?
• 1:58
  These are the cars made famous on TV or in movies that are globally
• 2:01
  recognizable and often lusted over by fans and enthusiasts alike.
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  Some simple ones come to mind.
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  The Porsche 944 from Sixteen Candles.
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  The Ferrari 250 California from Ferris Bueller.
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  Magnum P.
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  I.
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  's Ferrari 308 Targa.
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  Knight Rider's 1982 Pontiac Trans Am.
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  What about the Smoky and the Bandit Trans Am?
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  Or the color changing Lamborghini Countach from Cannonball Run?
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  The list goes on and on.
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  But who doesn't fantasize about wanting to drive Doc Brown's time machine?
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  I'm also reminded of an old saying, never meet your heroes.
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  And people usually stop there without thinking.
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  But ask yourself, why?
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  Why not?
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  Because you're surely to be disappointed?
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  That's what many people will finally settle on.
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  That said, I've had the privilege of being handed the keys of lots of hero cars.
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  Some amazing, and some not so much.
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  As I quickly jog my memory, a short list peaks out from the clouds.
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  Porsche nine 30 a Ferrari 3 28 in place of the Magnum 3 0 8 a Porsche 9 44 77.
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  Pontiac TransAm, 85 Renault R five Turbo, two Dodge Viper.
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  Plenty of Porsche, nine 20 eights and countless others.
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  But now I get to add a DeLorean to that list.
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  I'd also like to point out that my test drives are more than just
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  a quick lap around the block.
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  I've gotten the opportunity to really test these cars, whether
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  it's at an autocross, or on track, or hours and hours on B roads.
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  In this case, I don't like the idea of meeting a celebrity, blushing
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  like an awkward teenager, shyly asking for their autograph, and
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  running away idiotically starstruck.
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  I love getting to know these cars and their owners, studying them, debunking
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  expectations, rumors, and misinformation.
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  So where are we headed?
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  Don asked me after a cup of coffee and a delicious soft baked
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  cinnamon scone from a local bakery on this chilly November morning.
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  Like I have a clue where anything is in Texas.
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  So I responded, you've only lived out here for about a year.
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  Point us in a direction and let's go explore.
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  I know just the spot.
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  A place we call Blair Witch Road.
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  Where we're going, we need roads.
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  Beaglewing doors are one of the most iconic parts of this vehicle, bar none.
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  Truthfully, I expected them to be medieval devices of torture and
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  decapitation, but was pleasantly surprised to find out that between the
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  pneumatic shocks and the torsion spring assist, they are quite easy to operate.
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  There are upsides and downsides to these doors.
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  They are extremely compact in the sense that, unlike a traditional door, they
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  don't extrude from the vehicle, where tight parking spots can prove awkward.
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  Instead, everything is confined to the perimeter of the vehicle.
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  Getting in and out of the car is about as graceful as you'd expect from any
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  low riding vehicle, but I find that with the Gullwings, it's more like sliding
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  in and out of a caged race car than plopping into your standard road car.
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  For drivers in skirts, the DMC 12 could prove a bit more challenging,
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  dare I say revealing, given the awkward angle of egress.
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  Being a gym rat, I can see why John Z.
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  DeLorean liked these doors.
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  The muscle motion required to open and close them is similar to that of a
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  weighted pull down, using more of your biceps and your shoulder rather than
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  having to hunch out of the car, extend your back, and pull towards your ribcage.
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  One could argue these doors are healthier than what we're all accustomed to.
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  The door closes with a gentle thud, akin to a bank vault closing, and
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  you suddenly feel encapsulated in the DMC's interior, which becomes very
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  small, nearly claustrophobic, because of the curvature of the gull wings.
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  This is one of its downsides, but it's not a major flaw.
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  The number one issue with the doors is the glass, which many don't realize
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  is completely fixed, except for the powered, quote, toll booth windows.
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  Even with today's engineering skills, it would be quite the feat to figure
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  out how to successfully recede that compound curve glass into the door.
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  Compromises were made, and the toll booth windows were added.
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  The visibility is different.
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  I would put the DMC 12 up there with other exotics of the period where
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  style was emphasized over function.
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  Cars like the Lamborghini Countach, Lotus Esprit, and other wedges come to mind.
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  All of which are spellbinding cars that are terrible to see out of.
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  It shouldn't come as a surprise that you sit very low in the DMC
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  12, and so, gauging where the outer corners of the car exist, especially
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  the front, can be difficult.
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  Having a rearview mirror is near irrelevant, and Don doesn't have
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  one, because of the rear louvers, making the Volkswagen style mirrors
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  your best friend while driving.
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  Getting your eyes up and out across the A pillar in the hood for corner entry
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  really takes some getting used to.
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  The front right corner of the car feels like it's a mile away from the driver,
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  much like A viper with its long snout.
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  Getting behind the wheel of the DeLorean was very familiar.
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  I'd never sat in one before, or even been this close up, in all honesty.
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  Even though it was marketed as, quote, an American sports car, and built in Ireland,
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  as I inspected the cabin, there were parts that distinctly came from Fiat, Renault,
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  and even the glass from Securit Saint Gobain were the same folks that supplied
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  glass for Volkswagen back in those days.
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  From the Momo like steering wheel to the VDO like gauges, it all
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  felt, well, I Very European.
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  I credit this feeling to the work of Giorgetto Giugiaro, who had a
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  large hand in designing the DMC 12, and whose portfolio spans the gambit
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  of names like Maserati, Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, Lancia, and many others.
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  Having driven and owned other Giugiaro cars, the DMC 12 was instinctual in
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  that its familiarity made the experience easier and much more rewarding.
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  As I turned the key, the motor turned over with almost no hesitation.
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  I detected a low bass rumble similar to the early flat 6 Porsche 911s.
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  This is in part because many six cylinders, depending on their
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  aperture angle, sound similar.
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  In this case, the Peugeot Renault Volvo, known as the PRV, 2.
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  8 liter, is a 90 degree engine.
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  Having driven plenty of old 911s, that sound behind my ears was a pleasant
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  reminder of how things used to be.
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  Blipping the throttle, the DMC 12 gave a slight chimed whistle that Volkswagen
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  Beetle owners might be familiar with.
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  Opening up the taps, the PRV V6 does change its tone and distances
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  itself from the 911 completely.
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  While cruising the DMC 12 is rather quiet, despite some road and wind
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  noise from the doors, having a conversation doesn't require screaming
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  over the RPM band at any point.
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  Here are some additional things I noticed about the DMC 12 as I began
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  to drive it around town before heading on our adventure to Blair Witch Road.
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  There is no dead pedal.
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  Your left leg ends up resting against the door most of the
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  time, waiting for the next shift.
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  But there's tons of leg room on both sides of the car.
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  Because don't forget, John Z.
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  DeLorean was well over six foot tall.
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  So let's talk about a big man in a little car.
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  The shifter is in an odd spot.
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  It's too high from the floor and too far from the steering wheel, unlike
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  a Porsche 944, where everything is very close and deliberately ergonomic.
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  The act of moving your arm across the center console means quick
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  shifts aren't really possible.
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  It's very hard to heel toe downshift because of the awkward pedal spacing.
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  It's possible, but requires a lot of ankle rotation and can't be done quickly.
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  Pedal extenders could be used, but the accelerator naturally sits
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  higher than the brake, making it even more challenging to adapt to.
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  The speedo only goes to 85 miles an hour because this was a common quote
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  gas saving technique of the time.
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  55 miles an hour was the national average and that means getting
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  to 88 means pegging the needle.
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  The HVAC vents and switches are in the door and remind me of a 928.
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  The car doesn't pretend to be a 2 plus 2 or have silly jump seats for purse
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  dogs or two year olds in the back.
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  The parcel shelf is a nice touch and convenient for storing
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  even full size backpacks or the occasional flux capacitor.
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  Heading down Blair Witch Road, there's never a dull moment with Don.
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  His eagle eyed view of the surroundings made for pleasant
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  distraction and conversation.
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  Not really talking about the car, but more along the lines of, I wonder
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  what's in that garage and that garage.
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  He's always thinking about his next story.
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  Blair Witch Road, as Don likes to call the stretch we were on, provided just
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  the type of road I was hoping for.
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  Heading completely out of town into nothingness, lined with trees
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  and aged tarmac with no lines, as well as blind and tight corners.
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  It allowed the DMC 12 to provide me with the feedback I needed
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  to judge its handling prowess and show me its true colors.
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  Don is a very capable and smooth driver, and he's turned many laps at
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  racetracks all over the West Coast when he used to review cars for Motor Trend.
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  But I could tell he was getting a touch nervous when I wanted to push
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  the DMC 12, so I decided to take it to 11 tenths instead of the full 13.
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  Keeping in mind that the DMC 12 has a configuration and weight distribution
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  similar to a 911, with its engine hanging out past the rear axles and very close
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  to the rear bumper of the car, I wanted to treat it with the same respect I would
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  a spirited drive with a classic Porsche.
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  Traveling throttle oversteer is always the enemy of this layout, and
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  all shifting and braking should be completed in a straight line, which
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  means no aggressive trail braking.
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  Being able to properly heel toe would have been great about now,
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  I kept thinking to myself as I set up the next corner and powered out.
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  Don's DMC 12 only has 22, 000 miles on it.
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  It's been well maintained with little to no upgrades of any kind.
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  He considers himself, quote, a purist and wants to leave the
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  car as original as possible, but enjoys driving it whenever he can.
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  The backbone chassis design is very rigid with little flex, but the
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  suspension is soft due in part to age, absorber technology of the time.
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  A nice set of refreshed Konis or Bilsteins would transform the
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  handling of the car tremendously.
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  Even without power steering, turning isn't a problem at speed, and you
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  can be very exact with your inputs because of the feedback from the wheel.
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  At 2, 800 pounds, the DMC 12 was heavy in its day, but by today's
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  standards, it's a lightweight, and it doesn't really have enough power
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  to get itself into too much trouble.
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  But we did get some nice rotation out of it during one spirited corner attack.
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  But just like a nine 11, the front end is light and dirty.
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  The DMC 12 turns in quickly, but you really need to steer
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  it off the rear wheels to be fast in and out of any corner.
• 12:09
  And that's a completely different driving style than most people are used to.
• 12:13
  What the PRVV six lacks an overall power it makes up for in gearing.
• 12:17
  I'm still unclear as to whose gearbox or transaxle is strapped to the PRV,
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  but I'd argue that the gear pack.
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  It's spacing, or gear ratios, and the final drive are
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  perfectly mated for the engine.
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  Even with the 130 horsepower, the motor feels torquey everywhere in the RPM band.
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  Overall, the DMC 12 handles exactly like I expected, but would no doubt be a
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  ton more fun, say, with 250 horsepower?
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  Or maybe a turbo?
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  Wait, so is it really a sports car?
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  On our return trip back down Blair Witch Road, Don spotted a garage turned into a
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  vintage filling and service station, so we decided to stop and chat with the owner.
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  With some time to collect my thoughts and study the car more, I kept asking
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  myself, is it really a sports car?
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  I came to the conclusion that it is not.
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  So then what is it?
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  I would consider it a sports coupe, or what many might also
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  call today a grand tourer.
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  And now that I've driven it, spent time with it, and dissected it,
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  to me, it's more 928 than 911.
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  And I'm totally okay with that.
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  I've driven and autocrossed several 928s over the years,
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  and I absolutely adore them.
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  Is the 928 a better car than the DMC 12?
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  Sure, but that's not the point.
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  I think the DMC 12 as a car, and not a movie star, has been mislabeled for years.
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  Once I took the veiled expectation of Corvette, 911, Nissan Z, Ferrari
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  308, all out of the equation, and saw it for what it really is, It
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  makes way more sense what John Z.
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  DeLorean's goal was.
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  It doesn't do any one thing amazingly well, but it can do
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  everything at the same time, and I really appreciate that in a car.
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  So when you look at the DeLorean DMC 12 closely, and you keep the naysayers
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  out of your ears, you realize that for all its faults, It's actually the
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  work of two geniuses getting together.
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  Both John Z.
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  DeLorean, whose name adorns the car, and Georgetta Giugiaro, who helped design it.
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  They came together to develop a car that was almost 10 years ahead of its time.
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  When you follow its development from the mid 1970s until its demise
• 14:18
  in 1982 and 1983, this car could have been held back even longer.
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  easily until 1985 and sold alongside the Volkswagen Scirocco, the Audi Coupe
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  GT, the Porsche 944, and many others.
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  And no one would have known it was designed at the height of the malaise era.
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  More importantly, this car was the beginning of a dream that unfortunately
• 14:40
  was never completely realized.
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  So, who knows what a second generation DMC 12 would have been
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  like, if they were ever built.
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  Would I buy one?
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  That's the question Don left me with after many hours of driving his car.
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  Not, so what do you think?
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  Which is an easier question to answer.
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  In the end, I couldn't answer his question directly.
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  It gave me pause, but I did decide, however, that as hero cars go,
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  the DMC 12 is the best of the worst, without sounding too harsh.
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  Maybe I'm weird, but I actually think my least favorite part about the
• 15:14
  DeLorean DMC 12, even though it's its second most notable feature to the
• 15:18
  Gullwings, is the stainless steel.
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  It was a cool idea, then, for rust prevention and preservation of the
• 15:25
  vehicle, but it's also a cost cutting measure in the paint and body department,
• 15:29
  which is much like Henry Ford's Model Ts.
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  You can have it in any color you like.
• 15:34
  So long as it's black.
• 15:36
  In working with Kat DeLorean at the DeLorean Legacy Project, I did learn
• 15:39
  about the recyclable merits of stainless steel and can understand that angle.
• 15:44
  But how cool would an all black DeLorean be than just stainless steel?
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  In the end, the DMC 12 is actually a great driver's car without all
• 15:56
  the pomp and circumstance that comes with owning other Grand Tourers.
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  With only 9, 000 of these cars produced globally and fewer still in
• 16:04
  existence, you're sure to be the only person with one in your area, let
• 16:08
  alone at the next Cars and Coffee.
• 16:10
  So get ready for lots of stares, silly questions, and an undying
• 16:13
  admiration for a truly iconic car.
• 16:16
  I really enjoy our retro test drives, and I've been very fortunate to have
• 16:20
  conducted many of them over the years.
• 16:21
  Not all of them fully documented, but experienced in
• 16:24
  just the same way as this one.
• 16:26
  I'm super appreciative to everyone who has lent me their keys over the
• 16:29
  years, and especially to Don for trusting me with his prized DeLorean.
• 16:33
  So if you have a car you'd like us to test or review, please don't hesitate to reach
• 16:36
  out to us at crewchief at gtmotorsports.
• 16:40
  org.
• 16:40
  And remember, the adage, never meet or drive your heroes, might still be true.
• 16:45
  But I'm going to do it anyways, just because.
• 16:54
  We hope you enjoyed another awesome episode of Brake Fix Podcast brought
• 16:58
  to you by Grand Touring Motorsports.
• 17:00
  If you'd like to be a guest on the show or get involved, be sure
• 17:03
  to follow us on all social media platforms at GrandTouringMotorsports.
• 17:07
  And if you'd like to learn more about the content of this episode,
• 17:11
  be sure to check out the follow on article at gtmotorsports.
• 17:14
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• 17:16
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