The Vehicle
In the 1970s, John DeLorean developed a vision for future automobiles that he was unable to realise at General Motors. As a result, the Pontiac GTO inventor founded his own company - the DeLorean Motor Company. The only vehicle sold was the 1,286 kg DMC-12, which was named after its planned list price of $12,000.
In the wake of DMC's insolvency and accusations of drug trafficking, production of the DMC-12 was discontinued. However, some special features, such as the omission of the paint finish by using brushed SS304 austenitic stainless steel, are still relevant from a lightweight construction point of view.
The Technology
Made from a fibreglass tub, the car housed a 132 hp 2.8 L six-cylinder V engine developed by Peugeot, Renault, and Volvo. The engine block was cast from aluminium and featured an overhead camshaft driven by chain. This engine, which had an uneven ignition gap and therefore ran rougher, weighed about 150 kg.
DMC's economic failure prevented further improvements of the series engine, so it was up to the tuning scene to further increase engine performance.
The Lightweighting Effect
With an almost unchanged vehicle weight, a vehicle derivative realised a drive power of about 1.21 GW, which made acceleration possible even after reaching the 88-mph limit, which was highly regarded in America. In addition to an adapted cooling system, the temperature was also monitored. This aggregate temperature was displayed to the driver on a four-part scale from white at 500°F to red at 2,000°F, because an additional thermal load on the engine components occured.
Note
Compliments of "Doc" Emmett L. Brown. This article was written for the first of April 2022. For further adjustments we would have to jump into the past (or just back to the future). ?
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