This 6800-Mile DeLorean Will Transport You Straight Back To 1985

If someone tasked you with finding them a pristine DMC 12 that had covered less than 7,000 miles in the hands of no more than two owners, you’d probably tell them to get busy finishing that time machine so you could go get one.

That’s because the last DeLoreans rolled off the Dunmurry line in Northern Ireland in 1982, meaning by the time the iconic time-travelling movie Back to the Future premiered in 1985, most of the 9200 cars built would have already passed 7000 miles – and, in the time since, passed through a few pairs of hands.

But not the car pictured here, which is being offered for sale at the Bonhams Amelia Island Auction later this month. Understood to have originally been bought by a couple who lived in Manhattan, the DMC 12 was kept in the suburbs of the city at the owner’s parents’ home during the week, only coming out to play at weekends and during holidays.

As a result, the DeLorean racked up very few miles, and by the 1990s the owners realized they had something pretty special on their hands. In fact, this DMC12 is more special than most because it’s the less common five-speed manual version. Most DeLoreans paired their PRV (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) 2.85-liter V6 with a three-speed auto.

Related: Italdesign Teases What Looks Like A Modern-Day DeLorean DMC-12

Those two extra ratios don’t turn the DeLorean into a supercar. Because the DMC 12 effectively had two sets of body panels – a fibreglass inner body plus a stainless steel outer skin – it was heavy, and the emissions-spec Federalized engine made just 130 hp. Zero to 62mph took almost 10 seconds, which was nothing special even in the early 1980s, and makes the obligatory “Outatime” BTTF license plates seem even more pertinent.

But Bonhams suggests only 6500 of the 9200 cars produced are still on the road, and it’s unlikely you’ll find another one in this condition and spec outside of a museum. It’s not a box-fresh restored car, but a nicely preserved, slightly grubby original that shows a welcome patina from gentle use – just like the one you might have picked up at used car lot back in 1985.

H/T to Silodrome