Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. Photo Galleries
  4. Legacy Archives

Doc Brown’s personal Delorean – with 309 original miles – has finally been uncovered

Add as a preferred source on Google

Some cars, and one in particular, really do come back from to the future.

This 1981 Delorean DMC-12 may have traveled 33 years into the present, but the really strange thing is it only has 309 original miles.

This perfect stainless steel beauty was found in a storage container with delivery mileage, when an un-named client visited “Corvette Mike” Vietro’s shop. The anonymous client wanted to purchase a 1966 Chevrolet Corvette 427 Coupe, and “Corvette Mike” gladly obliged. Mike then asked what the mystery man had to offer in turn.

When the client responded with, “I have a 308, original mile Delorean,” Vietro couldn’t believe his ears. The deal was made and Vietro couldn’t have been happier when he saw a slightly dusty DMC-12 roll into his shop on a trailer.

According to Autoweek, Mike tried hopping into the Delorean but all of the gas had slipped out of the gas-filled struts on the gullwing doors. He quickly had his veteran service manager “call Doc,” to fix the problems.  

If you didn’t know, Deloreans were manufactured from 1981 to 1983, where 8,538 cars were fully assembled at the DeLorean plant in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.

Financial problems soon overcame the company, as it isn’t cheap to time travel. The man who designed the DMC-12, Giorgetto Giugiaro, made it known for the stainless-steel body and gullwing doors, while the cult following came later.

One would think that a time traveling vehicle would be able to reach warp speed, but the Peugeot-Renault-Volvo 2.8-liter V6 is not a performance powertrain to say the least.

Although, Vietro couldn’t care less about the performance with the DMC-12, as it outshined the looks of all his corvettes. Sadly, when the unnamed client came back to pick up his Corvette, he thought the same thing- and didn’t want to part with his extraterrestrial looking piece of history.

This insane automotive enthusiast now owns a 1966 corvette and 1981 Delorean. Not too shabby.

Both of these cars probably cost more than a chunk of plutonium. Supposedly, the DMC is still sitting in Mike Vietro’s shop, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he loses it in the near future. Someone might manage to get it up to 88 miles per hour.

What would you do with the metal-clad Delorean from the past? Let us know in the comments below.

Joe Mahan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Joe Mahan is an intern at Digital Trends working in the Cars section. He is currently a Junior at the University of Portland…
Google Meet finally lands on Android Auto, giving you one less excuse to skip a meeting
Android users can now join scheduled meetings and audio calls from their car's dashboard, catching up to what iPhone users have had for months.
Google Meet on Android Auto

Android Auto is finally getting Google Meet, months after the video conferencing app made its debut on Apple CarPlay. Android users can now pull up scheduled meetings and dial recent contacts straight from their car's display instead of reaching for their phone.

How it works behind the wheel

Read more
Waymo’s robotaxis keep finding new things to drive into, and construction zones are the latest
Thirteen construction zone incidents, one fleet recall, and a passenger who thought the end was near.
A Hyundai Ioniq 5 is equipped as a robotaxi.

Waymo has recalled its entire fleet of nearly 4,000 robotaxis to prevent them from driving on highways after identifying at least 13 instances where its vehicles drove straight into highway sections closed for construction. 

This is the company's sixth recall in under a year, and follows separate incidents involving flooded roads, telephone poles, chains and gates, towed trucks, and school buses.

Read more
BYD’s Great Tang eSUV offers 10-minute charging and a 590-mile range starting at $40,000
Spectacular specs, record preorders, and not a single one headed to America.
Car, Transportation, Vehicle

BYD just launched the Great Tang, a full-size electric SUV that offers the range of a regular gasoline-powered car and takes only slightly longer to refuel (read: recharge). 

The company's flagship eSUV starts at around $35,500 and gives most American electric SUVs a serious run for their money.

Read more