Delorean Time Machine Replicas

Before we get into DeLorean Time Machine Replicas, let's first give a brief rundown on how the DeLorean Time Machine came to be!

Marty: "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Doc, uh... Are you telling me you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean?"

Doc: "The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style? Besides, the stainless steel construction makes the flux dispersal — look out!!!"

— Doc and Marty during the first test

The DeLorean time machine was Dr. Emmett Brown's most successful invention, a plutonium-powered time machine comprised of a DeLorean DMC-12 sports car that had to reach 88 miles per hour in order to time travel.

On November 5, 1955, Doc was standing on the edge of his toilet, while hanging a clock in his bathroom. But the porcelain was wet, making Doc slip, fall and hit his head on the sink. When Doc came to, he had a vision of the flux capacitor in his head, and drew a crude schematic diagram as well as scrawling some hurried calculations. The capacitor was constructed afterward and completed in 1985.

Developing the Screen Used Time Machine

The time machine went through several variations during production of the first film, Back to the Future. In the first draft of the screenplay, the time machine was a laser device that was housed in a room; at the end of the draft the device was attached to a refrigerator and taken to a nuclear bomb test. Spielberg vetoed the idea, concerned that children might attempt to climb into one. Zemeckis suggested the DeLorean because it offered mobility, a unique design, and the gull-wing doors would appear like an alien UFO to a 1950s family, due to its characteristic gullwing doors (which were inspired by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL). The original ending of the 1985 film Back to the Future was to have Marty outrun a nuclear explosion at a test site to power the DeLorean's flux capacitor in order to travel back to 1985. However, during the movie's filming, it went over budget and behind schedule, and Universal refused to grant the producers any more money, as it couldn't afford the desert location to shoot such a scenario. Ultimately, the power source was changed to the lightning strike at the clock tower in Hill Valley as a result.

The DeLorean was developed under the supervision of Lawrence Paull, who designed it with artist Ron Cobb and illustrator Andrew Probert. They intended for the vehicle to look fixed together from common parts. The Ford Motor Company offered $75,000 to use a Ford Mustang instead; Gale responded that "Doc Brown doesn't drive a fucking Mustang".[21] Michael Fink was hired as the art department liaison and tasked with realizing Cobb's sketches and overseeing the car's construction. Paull and Canton, who had worked with him on Blade Runner (1982) and Buckaroo Bonzai, respectively, recruited him. Fink had a project lined up but agreed to help in the free weeks he had remaining.

Three DeLoreans used were purchased from a collector—one for stunts, one for special effects, and one for normal shots. They were unreliable and often broke down. 88 mph (142 km/h) was chosen as the time travel speed because it was easy to remember and looked "cool" on the speedometer. A custom speedometer was built to simulate 88 mph, as a 1979 law passed by then-President Jimmy Carter had limited cars to 85 mph to reduce speeding. The Flux Capacitor, necessary for time travel, was called the Temporal Field Capacitor; Zemeckis said the name was not believable. From his work on the 1979 drama The China Syndrome, Fink had learned of Neutron flux. He and Zemeckis simultaneously suggested renaming it the Flux Capacitor. Cobb and Probert had already placed the Flux Capacitor on the external and interior roof of the DeLorean. Fink placed it next to the driver. Fink constructed the device using a NEMA box and backlit Torr High-Voltage relays. The time display was constructed from LMB boxes. When Fink left, he picked Michael Scheffe to replace him. Scheffe finished the Flux Capacitor build and built the "Mr. Fusion" replacement power supply out of a Krups coffee grinder.

The flying DeLorean used a combination of live-action footage, animation, and a 1:5 scale (approximately 33 inches (840 mm) long) model built by Steve Gawley and the model shop crew and filmed against a blue screen .Months were spent building the model from epoxy, steel, and aluminum. Halogen lamps were fitted to the tires to simulate thrusters; the tires were made from aluminum to withstand the heat. Blue chalk was rubbed on the windscreen to conceal the lack of riders—the last effect produced by ILM.

The act of the DeLorean traveling through time is referred to as the "time slice" effect. Zemeckis only knew that he wanted it to be a violent transition. He described it like a "Neanderthal sitting on the hood of the DeLorean and chipping away the fabric of time in front of him". He suggested a crack in time opening before the car, but animators could not determine what would be on the reverse of the opening visible to the audience. An electrical effect enveloping the car was abandoned because a similar process had been used in the science fiction film The Terminator (1984). Other ideas included a wave of energy that moved over the car before exploding and blowing open a hole in time, and a "cubist" effect where the car would break into separate segments, each individually expanding in proportion before disappearing. Takahashi developed artwork showing the segments popping out from the DeLorean and glowing. Gale liked the effect, but Zemeckis did not; Spielberg found it unrealistic.

Takahashi animated separate effects like contrails and flashing lights; Zemeckis opted to use them all. The effects were drawn in black and white and optically manipulated afterward. This resulted in the DeLorean appearing to emit various effects that strike in front of the car to create an explosion that opens the time slice. This was combined with practical effects including smoke, sparks, and flash-bulbs. Fire emitting from the tires was intended to start the sequence but the gas jet mechanism repeatedly failed; it only functioned for two of the six shots required. Peggy Regan animated flames and reflections for consistency. The trails of fire left behind the DeLorean were practical, but the actual movement was slow. The footage was sped up and smoke added where the car disappeared. Fox and Lloyd were filmed against a reflective mylar blue screen set to match the car park's wet surface and composited into the trails of fire. Reflections of the actors were matte paintings filmed through a ripple glass to add texture.[36] A stuntman in a dog suit portrays Doc's dog when in the moving car. It was suggested that the DeLorean emerge from the time slice in sections that slam into each preceding section. Norwood and Charlie Mullen outlined an animation and Ellen Lichtwardt animated a glow to the vehicle. The effect is so quick as to be imperceptible. Zemeckis preferred this as he did not want the audience to think too much about how everything worked.

Different parts from three 1982 DeLoreans were used in the first film. Liquid nitrogen was poured onto the car for scenes after it had travelled through time to give the impression that it was cold. The base for the nuclear reactor was made from the hubcap from a Dodge Polara. Aircraft parts and blinking lights were added for effect. In one of the first scenes, carbon dioxide extinguishers were hidden inside the DeLorean to simulate the exhaust effect. Ultimately, five real DeLoreans were used in the filming of the trilogy, plus one "process" car built for interior shots. In the off-road scenes in the third film, a modified-for-off-road VW Beetle frame was fitted to the DeLorean with the whitewall tires and baby Moon hubcaps. A seventh DeLorean was also used in the filming; however, this one was merely a full-sized, fiberglass model used for exterior shots where the vehicle hovers above the set as well as when the actors interact with the vehicle. While the original PRV V6 engines were retained in the physical cars for filming, the film's sound effects artists used the sound of a Porsche 928 V8 and the Star Wars's landspeeder for the engine sounds in the movie.

Where are the Screen Used Cars Now?

Six DeLorean chassis were used during the production, along with one manufactured out of fiberglass for scenes where a full-size DeLorean was needed to "fly" on-screen. A few of those “cars” are still in existence today.

The A car or "Hero" Car

This was the main car used for filming and the car you are most used to seeing on film. After filming was over, Universal Studios kept the “A” car around at their Hollywood location. They used it for promotional purposes such as “Secrets of Back to the Future Trilogy”, Earth Day Special, Back to the Future THE RIDE footage, and the Back to the Future Cartoon Series. After that, the car was put out to pasture so to speak, as it was positioned beside several other BTTF cars so that visitors on the Universal Tour could see them. Over the years, the car was in pretty bad shape, with visitors just taking parts off the car and walking off with them. Hard to believe, I know! Thankfully, in 2011, Writer/Producer of BTTF Bob Gale recruited a team led up by Joe Walser to restore the car to museum quality. That they did! The car is now on permanent display at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles.

The “B” Car or Wreckage Car

This car has a rather interesting backstory. In the end of BTTF, you’ll remember the car was hit by the train and destroyed! It was a real car, fully customized but was designated as the stunt car with special riggings for the fire trail effects. As you will remember, it was obliterated at the end of Part III. Movie car customizer Jay Ohrberg was contracted by Universal Studios to tour Back to the Future vehicles to promote the sequels and the Ride. Ohrberg built several DeLorean time machines and used the "B" car wreckage to build his fleet of cars. Many original screen used "B" car props can be seen on several of his official replicas. The actual "B" car's body panels were put together and sold to Planet Hollywood where one of the Part 3 hood boxes was mounted to it as dressing. That car hung on the ceiling of Planet Hollywood Hawaii until it closed in 2010. After that, many believed the car was either sold, put into storage, or was outright demolished. In 2018 Jason from Back to the Future HQ contacted Planet Hollywood and set out to find the remains. After many phone calls and days of going back and forth with PH execs….he was successful and the remains were found! That information was passed along to Joe Walser and Bob Gale with the hopes of having the car sold or brought out for public viewing. Well, it worked! In 2019 the “car” was put up for auction and sold to a very big BTTF collector, Bill and Patrick Shea. The “Car” is now on display in their ever growing Back to the Future garage which they share with fans from all over the world.

The “C” Car

This car was a cutaway car and used for close up shots inside the car. Sadly, this car was left to rot away at Universal Studios after they were done with it. Amazingly enough in the early 2000’s, a lot of the parts that were left over from that car were put on a Delorean that was modified by Tom Talmons for the Universal Studios Japan car. Universal Japan has since sold that car to a private company in Japan which now displays the car in the entry way of the company.

Fiberglass Car

This car was built for several scenes where the delorean was seen flying or landing. They used a forklift to lower and raise the car into shots. This car was also used in Universal Studios Hollywood Special Effects Stage, and then put in storage. Hollywood Parts then tried auctioning off the car, but to no avail, it was not sold and the car was sadly destroyed by Universal Studios.

The Oxnard Car (Universal Studios Orlando)

This was a stunt train car and has been on display since the early 1990’s at Universal Orlando. This car was also used in the filming of the ride. This was the car that Tom Wilson sat in for the ride footage, and this was the car that was crashed at the end into the Institute of Future Technology. The car has gone through some growing pains as in the last 5 years pictures surfaced online of the car really being neglected. Thankfully over the last year, it looks like Universal has put some time and money into some minor upgrades to at least keep the car presentable, as it does draw a large crowd daily. UPDATE 3/20/20 - Universal moved the screen used Oxnard car into storage and has now replaced the car with a Time Machine Replica. There are currently talks happening behind the scenes with Bob Gale, Amblin, Universial and several others which will hopefully lead to the car getting a full restoration! Universal Orlando Resorts may or may not restore it back to the Oxnard movie car. They have to get some legal paperwork taken care of first. They don't have a title, they don't know who legally owes it, they need to find a theme park department to assign the budget to in 2021 and most of all, they need to decide if it is worth the cost to completely restore it, frame off. Will update when we hear more! UPDATE 10/14/20 The car is still in storage, and likely won’t be restored or sold. Since it’s an asset, the ownership is in question right now as NBCU continues to litigate with Amblin. Obviously they can’t sell it, but sadly there is no budget right now to restore either. Currently no one is authorized to touch the car so it looks like it will be in storage indefinitely.

Desert Car #2

You all remember this car, Marty blasts back to 1885 and runs right into Indians and the Cavalry chasing them! No one can forget those White Wall tires! After filming this car was sent over to Japan for display, where some parts were taken off by workers, including the Flux Capacitor. This car was purchased by ScreenUsed which they then restored and put up for auction. Wouldn’t you know it, Bill and Patrick Shea ended up buying it. The only screen used Delorean in public hands. This was in 2011 and they have had the car ever since. One thing was missing though, the original hood box! That was put on the “B” car which was in PH hands and hung from the ceiling. As I mentioned that car was also purchased by the Shea’s in 2019, finally reuniting the hood box with it’s original car, the Desert Car!

Desert Car #1

The off Roader #1 had more accurate parts on it than #2. Left over parts from Part 1 and the rear deck was built more accurate as well. During part 3, the filmmakers stripped this car’s outer panels off and interior pieces and put them on the “C” car during filming. After filming Universal put the new body panels on that car so they could put it on display at the Cinemagic stage show and then on the tram tour. When Universal Japan wanted to have a replica Time Machine, Universal hired Tom Talmon to build the car for them. He used the rear deck and some of the props from this car and some remaining stuff from the “C” car to build this car. The chassis of the Desert Car likely doesn’t remain anymore. These parts on the Japan car is how the off roader #1 and C car live on. This car was sold by Universal Japan and is now on display at a company in Japan. Further updates will be added when I find out which company and possibly get some pictures.

Delorean Time Machine Replicas

Ever since Back to the Future first hit the big screen, there have been people modifying their stock Delorean’s to look like the movie car. Early on it was much harder as there wasn’t as much information available. With that said, original parts they used on the cars were much easier to get in the 80’s and 90’s as well, much of which were old Military Aerospace parts. Some of these parts still exist today, but are harder and harder to find. Technology has come a long way as well, so casting parts or making parts that are nearly identical to those used on the actual cars is a bit easier now days as well. Don’t let that confuse you into thinking easier is cheaper, because it’s not. People spend between $15,000 and $40,000 to modify their cars to look as close to the movie car as possible. As you read above, there were 6 cars used, and not all the cars were made the same, thus, you can never build a 100% accurate Delorean Time Machine replica, but you can get pretty darn close. Many people have paved the way for Delorean Builders now days, and there are several small communities that exist for Delorean Owners who are converting their cars. In total, there are over 100 Time Machine Replicas in the world, and that number is growing every month. You can actually Rent Delorean Time Machine Replicas for events and parties via DeloreanRental.com

References

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