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De Lorean
The DeLorean Sports Car, or DMC-12, was the only car ever shipped by the DeLorean Motor Company, the result of John Z. DeLorean's passionate quest to found a major car company from scratch.
History
After leaving his executive position at General Motors in the 1970s, DeLorean leveraged his reputation as a brilliant engineer and golden boy of GM to put together a substantial network of investors, partners, and engineering talent. After considering potential manufacturing sites worldwide, the company ultimately negotiated a sweetheart deal with the British Governnment that funded the construction of a state-of-the-art purpose-built factory in job-starved Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.
Discontinued models
Billed as an "Ethical Sports Car", the DMC-12 was a futuristic rear-engine 2-seat touring car best remembered for its unpainted stainless-steel skin and its gullwing doors. Although not without its flaws, the design has proven timeless, still looking futuristic 25 years after its introduction. Although aggressively promoted and widely anticipated, the delivered product suffered from a painfully high price, disappointing performance (largely due to a bloated weight budget), and a recession-driven depressed auto market. Consequently, sales were lackluster. Ultimately, undercapitalization and shaky (and somewhat questionable) financing caused the company to collapse after building approximately 10,000 cars, a large percentage of which are still on the road a quarter-century later.
