DeLorean Motor Company recently shared the foundation for the Alpha5 EV coupe that was revealed on May 30, the company announced.
To create the Alpha5, DeLorean used uncovered archives and worked with Italdesgin, who designed the DMC-12, to reimagine the evolution of vehicles by decade, the company said. In this effort, the design teams immersed themselves in the style and technology of each decade and only used tools that were available within each of the decades.
“To understand where we are going, we have to know where we have been,” said Troy Beetz, CMO of DeLorean Motor Company Inc. “We have a responsibility to explore and honor the brand’s history while curating its future.”
This reimagined timeline resulted in four generational designs.
Unknown to the larger public, DeLorean created its first Alpha shortly after the DMC-12. The DMC-24 was a 4-5 seat vehicle designed in 1981. Archived sketches revealed a step toward DeLorean’s future with a departure from its stainless-steel body and the exploration of new materials, but the vehicle ultimately remained unreleased, the company said.
In 1996, DeLorean’s second concept, the Alpha2 roadster, was born. The Alpha2 represents DeLorean’s first complete departure from the legacy design of the DMC-12 and the brand’s evolving design languages that were propelled by improving technology, the company said.
In 2006, the DeLorean Alpha3, a luxury sedan and the brand’s first interpretation of an electric vehicle, was born. The Alpha3 pushed boundaries and the brand began to define the very definition of what it meant for a vehicle to be a DeLorean, according to DMC.
When the new decade hit, the takeover of tech was apparent. In 2013, the DeLorean Alpha4 was created, an SUV powered by hydrogen.
Click here to learn the full story behind each concept car.