DeLorean Alpha 5 – The '80s Legend Reimagined
By EdwardA. Sanchez — May 31, 2022
Nostalgia is a powerful thing. For some, it evokes all sorts of warm-fuzzies. But for some, it can also be a straightjacket that stifles creativity and originality. And when much of that nostalgia is wrapped around silver screen stardom, the public’s attention is even more focused on the design. The revived DeLorean Alpha 5, a revival of the iconic brand by an investor group led by CEO Joost de Vries, is deliberately not a cookie-cutter of the original DMC-12, which if we’re to be perfectly honest, was not exactly a stellar performer, even in the standards of its day.
The early 2000s saw an abundance of retro-inspired designs in the form of the S197 Ford Mustang, the Ford Thunderbird, the Chrysler PT Cruiser, and the Chevy SSR. Tellingly, all except the Mustang are no longer around. And today’s Mustang, while still retaining some vestigial heritage styling elements, is not nearly as slavishly retro as the S197.
If the front didn’t say “DeLorean,” you’d be hard pressed to know this EV shared its lineage with an ‘80s icon.
What will probably be the most controversial difference between the original DMC-12 is the addition of a back seat. This makes the Alpha 5 considerably larger than the original DMC-12, but most newer cars are considerably larger than their predecessors, owing to federal safety regulations, and the associated hardware. And let’s be perfectly honest, the market for two-seat sports cars is small and shrinking. To have any chance at volume sales (if that’s what DeLorean aspires to), four-seat capacity is kind of a given.
While the DeLorean Alpha 5 concept does’t sport many of DMC-12’s looks, the door is certainly a retro callback.
Claimed performance specifications on the Alpha 5 are respectable, but not earth-shattering, with the Tesla Model S Plaid kind of already spoiling the party for everyone else in that regard, at least in terms of sheer brute-force acceleration. Specs listed are a 0-88 mph (cute) time of 4.35 seconds, a 0-60 time of 2.99, a top speed of 155 mph, a range of 300-plus miles, and a battery capacity of 100-plus kWh. As The Watt Car Editor-In-Chief Phil Royle has said more than once, “It’s not hard to go fast in an EV.” Indeed. There’s no reason to doubt these acceleration claims will not be achieved.
Today’s market largely dictates the necessity of four seats in the new DeLorean,
However, it’s very much an open question whether or not that Alpha 5 will make it to full-scale production. There are dozens of new intenders jockeying for position in the EV startup market. Even some well-funded and backed companies such as Lucid and Rivian are struggling. I do not wish them ill, but it’s far from a foregone conclusion that the revived DeLorean will make it in the long-haul. The company announced its headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, and the city offered $562,000 in economic incentives on the condition of the creation of 450 jobs. The car itself will be built in Canada, although production expansion to San Antonio is a possibility.
The DeLorean Alpha 5’s interior ticks all of the boxes for a modern EV.
Pricing has not been officially announced, but most are speculating it will be in the mid-$100,000s range. The car is scheduled to be officially revealed in-the-sheetmetal at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August.
(Images courtesy DeLorean)
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