Feature: A Classic Contemporary
December 1, 2007
Firing up the ignition, the engine soon settles into a vaguely mechanical rumble. Although the power plant is just behind the car’s occupants, hard acceleration—however hard that is considering the modest 130 hp—fails to produce much of a sports-car stir. McCaffrey anticipates the emotional letdown.
"It’s not really about the engine, not when it’s stock," he says. "It’s really about just enjoying the ride."
As the DeLorean snakes its way around the lush grounds that encircle the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Marin County Civic Center, one can’t help but feel . . . well, transported back in time. In this case, to an age when cars packed silly 85 mph speedometers and had to meet ride height specifications that often meant goofy gaps at the wheel wells. Back to a time when looking good in a car was often all you could hope for.
"There are only two things I hate," McCaffrey confesses as he struggles to turn the power steering–free car around in a cul-de-sac. "The engine and turning radius."
But the rest, it’s safe to say, he adores.
The cool, car-from-another-planet vibe of its stainless-steel body. The way the doors are designed to open no matter how tight the parking space. The manner in which this car—more than perhaps any other car in our mass-manufacturing age—truly represents the singular vision, desire and, yes, hubris of one man. There was only one John DeLorean, and he had time to make only one DeLorean DMC-12.
Wipfler sensed that some 27 years ago, when he walked into a dealer and bought a car that he cherishes to this day. For anyone else wanting to return to that moment in 1981, the trip back is only a phone call to Texas away.
DeLorean Motor Company, 800.872.3621, www.delorean.com
advertisement
