Back to the Future Special: Time travelling DeLorean DMC-12 explained

Introduction

About 30 years ago, a movie came out that redefined the very nature of fictional time travel. It was no longer about using magic spells or having alien super powers but rather involved some very questionable science and unhinged bending of the laws of Physics.

The film in question is ‘Back to the Future’ and its three protagonists Marty McFly, Doc Brown and a rather superb looking car called the DeLorean DMC-12. It is pretty much the hero of the movie (Well lets be honest, if it weren’t for the car, most of the movie would be just two guys rambling on about stuff they could imagine doing in the future/past).

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The DeLorean Car company

Now before I jump into the details of the DeLorean Time machine, here is a quick history lesson on the DeLorean DMC-12. It was an American sports car built and designed by John DeLorean, a car designer famous for creating machines like the Pontiac Firebird as well as the massive GTO muscle car. Most us who grew up in the 1990s will be able to relate to the former as it was the vehicle on which KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) from the Knight Rider TV show was based on.

After much success at General Motors for almost a period of 20 years, John DeLorean left the American auto giant to form his own car company called the DeLorean Motorcar Company. It only produced a single model called the DeLorean DMC-12 which despite being unveiled in 1973, went into production and sales only in 1981. While the car looked fantastic thanks to its unpainted stainless steel body and signature gullwing doors, the response was tepid. The company suffered many losses which ultimately resulted in DeLorean shutting shop.

In an almost clichéd manner, the car gained a cult following only once the company shut shop. In 1995, everything that was left of DeLorean’s efforts (from 20 years ago) was bought and revived by a British National, Stephen Wynne who currently supports and sells parts for the car from a facility in Houston, Texas.

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Time Travelling DeLorean DMC-12

Coming back to the DeLorean Time Machine, it is based on the standard car but gets a whole bunch of gizmos to make it a clock-bender. This specific model is ‘hybrid’ and I say this in quotes because it is not your conventional hybrid that we see on our roads today. The car is powered by a 2.5-litre Renault V6 while time travel mechanism is enabled through a nuclear reactor which uses Plutonium to generate 1.21 gigawatts needed to propel the car through time. However, the actual time travel is achieved using something called a flux-capacitor which in essence looks like a set of earphones in a transparent box.

Going full nerd, I further found out that the coils that snake out around the car use the body as a conductor to achieve the time travelling.

To time travel, Marty and Doc Brown enter their desired coordinates in a digital display that shows destination (red), present time zone (green) and last time zone that they were in (yellow). The car is then brought up to 88mph (146kmph) and voila! The flux capacitor does its thing and the car time travels. If that were not cool enough, the 1.21 GW and 146kmph speed means, the car leaves a trail of fire (in the previous destination) after every successful time jump. Oh and by the way, the time travel might be a change in time but it brings you back to the same place just in a different period.

I’ve personally always loved the DeLorean (mostly for the gullwing doors) and in this time travelling avatar, it is quite the looker. I believe that if someone were to remake the movies, then they should stick using the same machine in the same setup.

On a personal note, if somewhere, in some dimension, Doc Brown and Marty you guys do exist, then this is shout out from me to you asking if you could take me along for a ride somewhere in the river of time!