It may not be a time machine, but this DeLorean hovercraft is pretty impressive

By Stephen Edelstein January 2, 2015

As anyone who’s seen Back to the Future knows, the DeLorean DMC-12 makes a pretty good time machine, but why stop there?

Behold the DeLorean hovercraft. It may not be able to take you back to 1955, but it does look pretty darn cool on both land and sea.

It’s the creation of Matthew Riese, a.k.a. David Lorean. He spent years working on it, and managed to raise $5,644 (with an original goal of $5,500) on Kickstarter to achieve his final vision, according to Motor Authority.

The hovercraft achieves lift using a 6-horsepower lawnmower engine to power a 24-inch fan, which builds up a cushion of air underneath. Forward momentum comes courtesy of a 16-hp Briggs & Stratton two-cylinder utility engine, giving the craft a top speed of just 23 mph.

The DeLorean body is fake, by the way. It’s made from styrofoam insulation covered with a thin layer of fiberglass. That’s probably lighter than an actual DeLorean, which had a fiberglass chassis with stainless steel body panels.

Plus, given how awesome this thing looks, who cares if it’s a real DeLorean or not?

Interestingly, this isn’t the first attempt at a DeLorean hovercraft. The early 2000s Discovery Channel car show Monster Garage – which featured teams of builders turning cars into outlandish machines – tried to make one.

When that episode’s team couldn’t make it happen, the unfinished hulk was run over by a U.S. Marine amphibious assault vehicle. So far, this DeLorean hovercraft is faring better.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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