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John Z. DeLorean's luxury Grand Touring
concept was refined into a work of automotive
art by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the founder of world-
famous ITAL DESIGN The wedge shape, as it
finds its interpretation in the DeLorean, is not
only stunning to look at, but aerodynamically
efficient as well.
This concern with both form and function is
carried throughout the car. The DeLorean uses
the ultimate coating - stainless steel - on the
panels that cover the entire body. The stainless
needs no maintenance to prevent rust or corro-
sion.
The body beneath the stainless is also im-
previous to the degrading effects of rust. The
fiberglass-reinforced panels are made by a
special vacuum-assisted resin-injection pro-
cess that places the resin precisely where it's
needed to provide maximum strength. Win-
The DeLorean body is designed with the
human body in mind. Ground-hugging sports
cars are notoriously awkward to enter or exit.
Not so with the DeLorean's gull-wing doors.
They swing way up and tower above the roof
so there is nothing to impede entry. A scant 14
inches of side clearance is all that's needed.
The low door sill, the unobstructed clear hatch-
way, the overhead space are all completely un-
expected in a car that's only 45 inches high.
The gull-wing door itself is a triumph of
technology. The torsion bar used to to ease its
opening and closing is made in a sub-frigid
bath of liquid nitrogen. While immersed in
liquid nitrogen, the torsion bar is twisted
through ten full revolutions to rearrange the
grain structure of the metal. The finished bar
can open and close the door at least 50,000
times without loss of strength. |
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As you ease yourself into the luscious leather
seats, you'll be glad that in this one area DMC
designers chose tradition not technology. The
hides, from a Scottish Tannery which supplies
the Royal Family, impart the unforgettable feel,
aroma and looks of a luxurious time past.
The dashboard instruments have been sel-
ected for their value as providers of vital in-
formation and not as electronic trinkets or
ornaments. White needles sweeping across a
black background provide instant comprehen-
sion so the driver can react promptly to road
conditions.
The frame and 30 other hidden components
are treated with a special plastic coating to
prevent corrosion. The pieces are grit blasted,
heated, then dipped into a tank of fluidized
epoxy powder. This epoxy coating provides
protection against rust, road salt, and flying
gravel displaced by the high speed motion of
the car. Special care has been taken to pro-
tech the fuel tank. The blow-molded, high-den
sity plastic tank can never corrode, and it's
tucked safely between the frame members, be-
hind the front cross member. The tank is made
in Norway by a firm founded by Alfred Nobel.
The suspension exists to isolate you from too
intimate contact with the road, while providing
good control and handling. A fully independent
suspension with unequal length upper and
lower control arms graces each corner. Care-
fully selected coil springs, a front anti-roll bar,
rack-and-pinion steering and diagonal rear trail-
ing arms contribute to the suspension's super-
ior handling characteristics. Large, 4-wheel disc
brakes are standard, and the braking forces
have been carefully proportioned front-to-rear to
assure maximum fade-free control in extreme
situations. Goodyear developed the distinctive
tread pattern of the Neutral Contour Tires from
its Formula One program. Unlike convention-
ally-molded tires, these high-performance NCT
steel-belted radials are molded in the very
shape they will assume when mounted on the
car's cast aluminum wheels. Cornering and
braking forces are therefore distributed more
evenly throughout the tire's structure. |
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The motive force behind the DeLorean is
provided by a lightweight aluminum V6 that
resides between the rear legs of the chassis.
The overhead-camshaft, fuel-injected, 2.85-
liter engine develops 130 horsepower and de-
livers 19 mpg estimated and an especially
impressive 29 mpg highway. The engine is
mated with either a 5-speed manual transaxle
or a 3-speed automatic. The automatic trans-
mission is electronically controlled and can be
shifted manually as well.
Engine: aluminum 90° V6 OHC
Displacement: 2.85 liters
Bore & Stroke: 91 x 73 mm
Compression Ratio: 8.8:1
Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection
Transmission: 5-speed manual or
3-speed automatic
Transaxle final drive ration 3.44:1
4-wheel independent suspension
Rack-and-pinion steering
Power disc brakes, front and rear
Cast aluminum wheels, 14 x 6 front, 15 x 8 rear
Goodyear NCT steel-belted radial tires
Wheelbase: 94.8"
Track: 62.6" front, 62.5" rear
Length: 168.0" Width: 72.8" Height: 44.9"
Specifications and equipment are based on
information available at time of printing and
are subject to change without notice.
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