1981 DeLorean DMC-12 5-Speed

Of all the iconic cars on the market from a design perspective, the DeLorean is one of the most enigmatic and much loved and it’s not often that they come up for auction so when they do, they’ve definitely got our attention here at Coolector HQ. This amazing 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 5-Speed has just sold on Bring A Trailer for a mighty reasonable price tag of just $32k and the lucky owner now has one of the coolest looking, stealthiest DeLoreans on the market.

The 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 5-Speed on Bring A Trailer has only done 6k miles from new and is in remarkably good condition given that it is almost four decades old. The original owner reportedly commissioned a colour change to pink from the factory brushed stainless steel and then later had the car refinished in its current black (thankfully). It was part of a private museum in Nebraska from 1990 until 2018, and the selling dealer acquired the car one month ago from a private owner.

Back To The Future

If there was one car that could sum up the 1980s, it would definitely be the DeLorean and this 1981 DMC-12 5 Speed is certainly one of the best of the bunch from that decade. The power comes from a rear-mounted 2.85-liter PRV V6 mated to a five-speed manual transaxle and it delivers a rather impressive performance from the minute you turn the ignition. The vehicle underwent extensive maintenance in January 2019 which included a new radiator, thermostat, water pump, fuel pump, distributor, and injectors as well as a new headliner and service to the transmission and the air conditioning.

This stunning 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 5-Speed on Bring A Trailer is now offered in Maryland with partial service records, factory books and manuals, a sales brochure and booklets, literature, a car cover, clean AutoCheck and Carfax reports, and a clean Montana title. Still operating exactly as the designer intended, the gullwing doors are supported by cryogenically preset torsion bars and gas-charged struts. It has staggered cast-alloy wheels which measure 14″ up front and 15″ at the rear and are fitted with the reportedly original Goodyear NCT HR60 tires. All four brake calipers were replaced along with their pads, and new brake fluid was added during the recent maintenance.

Just as striking on the inside, the cabin boasts grey leather upholstery with manually adjustable high-back bucket seats and matching interior plastics and carpeting. During the January 2019 service, new window motors and a driver’s window switch were fitted. As recently as this August, a new headliner was fitted along with new door seals by Rankin Upholstery in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Instrumentation includes an 85-mph speedometer and an 8k-rpm tachometer. Just under 5,900 miles are shown on the five-digit odometer, approximately 50 of which have been added by the selling dealer.

Collaborative Effort

The rear-mounted 2.85L V6 was designed jointly by Peugeot, Renault, and Volvo, and it was factory rated at 130 horsepower and 153 lb-ft of torque in DeLorean specification so you’ll be left impressed with what this excellent classic car has got going on under the hood. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transaxle and delivers a compelling performance out on the open road. It’s hard to believe that someone managed to bag this DeLorean for just $32k on Bring A Trailer because it is definitely one of the coolest cars on the market.

Bring A Trailer have some amazing machines come under their hammer but this 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 5-Speed is unquestionably one of the coolest to date and, better still, it didn’t end up costing an arm and a leg like a lot of the classic cars we feature here on the pages of The Coolector. If you want to add a touch of Marty McFly vibes to your vintage car collection, keep an eye out on the lots of Bring A Trailer because the do occasionally have other DeLoreans up for sale.