Something quite rare and maybe some of you guys might like it

Looks like a pretty hot Delorean, but THINK of the Pantera you could get for that kind of money!

Twin Turbos and only 5.8 Secs , that's no better than a stock Pantera.

They never did much for me personally, but each to his own. There's a 25 karat gold plated one here in the Reno Automobile Museum.

Julian

Yea I vote for Pantera. Cheaper, faster, easier to repair and a total cool group of people to hang with. Although, I must admit, the Delorean wont rust. Oh, one other thing, the Pantera windows roll down.

I can appreciate the Delorean for what it is and personally consider it to be undervalued and a future desired collectable. While far from stunning performer in stock trim, it was innovative for it's time. And there must be a few of us rust prone Pantera owners that appreciate the idea of stainless steel body panels.

The Delorean is a nice car and that one looks to be fairly quick but the styling in my opinion leaves a little to be desired. When you look at it next to a Pantera you can see the "Italian" in the Pantera and for me that makes the difference. That Italian flare makes the Pantera bodystyle timeless.

I like the car for the rare factor and the fact that it is nice. In the long run it may be a wise investment.

However the Pantera is a California 10 in the looks and style department. I would give the Delorean about a 5

I appreciate what Delorian tried to do, but the only good thing about the car is the SS.
It is not a very good car. It lacks virtually everything.
Perhaps had I driven #502 first, I might have felt differently.
If half of production had been dual turbos it could have been different. But at $70,000, it's just a custom $10,000 car now and maybe forever.

I appreciate all the input guys, just a bit of clarification though, the styling is Italian, Giugiaro nonetheless. The engine presently is set up for 300HP but 430HP was achieved during testing although the tranny would disintegrate at over 350HP. All DeLoreans were meant to be offered this way but they ran out of capital too fast. Think about it, this was the 3rd car built, 5.8 was pretty damn fast in 1981 especially since emmissions and economy had become a big deal by then. I love the Pantera especially the GT5 and 5s but I might snap this up. Actually I'll probably be selling my car as I've gotten an offer of $45gs so I'll try to roll that into the Pantera fund, a GT5s is a must for me as far as I'm concerned.

My son says that Deloran was screwed over by the english government. They set him up and sold him down the river.

That and a whole lot more DeTom, fascinating story actually if you could weed out alot of the other stuff. I could go on forever but this is a De Tomaso site so I know my boundaries, but I will say this...The guy was as much of a cowboy as Mr De Tomaso and had alot of balls as well to take on the big boys, just like Mr De Tomaso.

A Delorean in standard trim is under valued in today's market. But I doubt that a 70K Delorean will be a good investment.

A pristine original or highly modified Pantera can be had for far less $$. And I doubt the DeLorean will ever equal a Pantera in the grin factor. Best bang for the buck is by far a Pantera.

Damn those Brits DT, puttin' all that cocaine up John's nose.

quote:

Damn those Brits DT, puttin' all that cocaine up John's nose

But they say he had a lot of good hot tub parties.George,were you ever at one?

I met the Marketing Director of Delorean a few years ago. The story goes that in return for the setup money, everyone and their dog expected a little "something" back. - New bathroom with gold plated everything was one of the examples.

FWIW they do rot - it's only the bodies that are s/s - and not very good s/s for that matter.
Stock engines are log, and the tranny's won't take anywhere near 350hp reliably.

Plus, for that price i'd expect a fully functioning flux capacitor..... McFly? McFly???????

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DeLoreans and DeTomasos:
I appreciate all the input guys, just a bit of clarification though, the styling is Italian,
QUOTE]

Not everything Italian is beautiful.

I think the mystery and history around the Delorean is more interesting then the car itself. Performance wise, handling, and as a whole the car turned out to be a dissapointment. Doesn't take away from the interesting story with Delorean trying to buck the system.

Gary

quote:

Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by DeLoreans and DeTomasos:
I appreciate all the input guys, just a bit of clarification though, the styling is Italian,
QUOTE]

Not everything Italian is beautiful.

I personally would have liked to see Delorian win.
It probably is just that thing that Americans like to see the underdog win.
I think his total misreading of what kind of a car could do that has helped others identify a market and car identaty.
I remember something Lenno said, "it's nice for just a plain ole' millionare to be able to compete with the billionares!".

The reality is that Delorean he never had a chance. Truth be told it was Ford's money that gave Detomaso and Shelby the opportunity to have a chance.

An yes indeed, there in lies a tale.

I read an interview of Jon DeLorean long ago, in the interview he blamed the Irish government for his woes. They made promises to him about aid he would receive IF he built his factory in their country, and then they did not keep their promises. (Imagine that, politicians that don't keep their promises!) Ireland was the entirely WRONG place to erect an auto factory, and he would not have done so had it not been for the promises that had been made to him.

The DeLorean was designed by none other than Giorgetto Giugiaro.

The DeLoren has a good club scene. Options for improving the DeLorean's engine performance are not tremendous, but the owners do have some options available to them. They're a nutsy bunch like us, crazy about their cars.

I think the DeLorean on ebay would be a good buy for somebody crazy about the marque. Good luck!

cowboy from hell

JD decision to rely on the Irish government would have been sound if it could have been accomplished in a short period of time (before the political climate changed). As you said GP no one could believe it would hold long enough. On top of that cost over runs and him bleeding the company for his lavish life style did not help him make any friends. That never helps.

By the time the car got into production he was already pretty strapped and desperate. Everyone knows he wasn’t into cocaine yet he was desperate enough to let a deal too good to be true be passed up. Big dreams!

I think there is no way you can compare him to DeTomaso, Carol Shelby, or even Tucker. Apples and oranges. First of all DeTomaso was a successful businessman and a legitimate company as well as car company; not just a pipe dream. Tucker fought the big boys but went out with a valiant effort and his head up high. I wouldn’t compare any of them to Carol Shelby. CS was a car guy with poor business sense who even today leaves a trail of people who have sent him money who he still owes cars. Nothing has changed except people have put his name on a pedestal. That’s how the Mangusta (Cobra Killer) got it’s name when CS backed out of a commitment letting DeTomaso holding the bag. Just how he did business. Even today I would enter into a deal with John Delorean LONG before I would enter into a deal with Carol Shelby!

quote:

Even today I would enter into a deal with John Delorean LONG before I would enter into a deal with Carol Shelby!

Gary, you do know that Delorean died right? Most don't know this but Delorean was the father of the GTO. That is how he got his noteriety.

quote:

Even today I would enter into a deal with John Delorean LONG before I would enter into a deal with Carol Shelby!

Nice to hear although John Z DeLorean passed away on March 20 of 2005.

No kidding, it was just the concept.

Sold $81,000....my offere of 80k was accepted until the winner upped the ante. Oh well I was almost a part of this unique cars history. Deep down though I must admit I really wanted a Pantera more than chasing after this car!!

If it is any consolation, you should be able to get a really sweet Pantera for that kind of money. Maybe even one of the ones with race history.

Yeah well, I'm just keeping my mouth shut from now on, everytime I say something concerning a car I end up losing it and looking like an a$$.

Oh heck, just adopt the attitude that if a car gets away, it wasn't the right one.