Iconic car from the movie Back to the Future, the Delorean DMC-12 is a perfect candidate for retrofitting. It may not have a Mr. Fusion reactor, but it boasts an electric propulsion system from Electrogenic that’s described as plug & play.
Old cars can sometimes be uneven when it comes to retrofitting. While replacing the 12-cylinder engine of a Ferrari Testarossa may seem like heresy to many, it takes on a different meaning for the DeLorean DMC-12. A true star of the Back to the Future trilogy by Robert Zemeckis, the coupe designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro adopts a cleaner propulsion system at the end of the first movie, running on just about anything (banana peel, beer can…).
Switching to electric is not a problem for the DeLorean. Especially since its V6 PRV engine (Peugeot Renault Volvo) never really excelled. British retrofit specialist Electrogenic offers a turnkey solution. Turnkey, because the kit provided by the company allows the new propulsion system to be installed in place of the old one without modifying anything on the vehicle structure.
The 42 kWh battery is distributed between the place of the fuel tank and at the top of what used to be the engine compartment, at the rear. The motor won’t generate the 1.21 gigawatts needed for the flux capacitor to work, but with its 160 kW and 310 Nm, it’s much more powerful than the original V6 (96 kW and 216 Nm). The extra power won’t be offset by the 40 kg added weight. The 0 to 100 km/h now takes just 5 seconds, compared to over 10 with the V6… The time for 0 to 88 mph is unknown, but the DMC-12 now features Launch Control. The range is estimated at 240 km.
Electrogenic complements this package with an energy recovery system during braking, a choice of three driving modes (Eco, Normal, and Sport), bi-directional charging via the hidden socket behind the rear plate, and a functioning air conditioning system…
No electric DeLorean
World-famous thanks to the movies, the DeLorean was not a commercial success. Less than 10,000 cars were produced before the demise of the brand, and its on-screen success came only after the company’s disappearance. Two projects promised us a new electric DeLorean. The one led by former Karma employees that was supposed to result in the Alpha 5 has been abandoned. John DeLorean’s daughter continues to advance DNG (DeLorean New Generation for naming rights reasons), but for now without an electric model and just a redesign of the Chevrolet Corvette C8’s body…