If you think Congress never gets anything done, perhaps this will give you reason to believe that it’s possible for it to accomplish something. Thanks to a provision within a highway bill recently passed, DeLorean cars will be making a comeback.
That bit of legislation, Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act, H.R. 2675, exempts small-volume vehicle replica manufacturers from some of the regulations by which new vehicle producers have to abide. According to Automotive News, “The replica vehicles are still subject to equipment standards, recalls and remedies … and must meet Clean Air Act emissions standards.”
However, that shouldn’t stop the Texas-based DeLorean Motor Company, which now possesses the name and trademarks of the original company, from releasing DMC-12 replicas with new engines and hardware in them. (Doing business should also be easier for companies like Superformance.) The plan is for the new DMC to crank out one vehicle a week – with the stainless steel body and gullwing doors we all know – in 2017 and ultimately reach a total of 300. Each one should sticker for less than $100,000.
DeLorean has to determine which emissions-compliant engine its reborn retro cars will use. One that comes to mind is the outgoing Camaro SS’s LS3. Even the 5.3-liter LC9 V8 would offer a substantial increase in output compared to what the original DMC-12’s V6 produced: 130 horsepower.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
