Alpha 5: DeLorean Motor Company Reveals Electrified Version of ’80s Classic

[Tsing]

The DeLorean Motor Company has shared the first photos of its all-new EV, the Alpha 5, offering an early look at the modern replacement for its classic stainless-steel paneled, gullwing-doored sports car made famous by the Back to the Future film trilogy.

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[Dan_D]

Too many seats.

 

[Zarathustra]

Too many seats.

Agreed.

I'm also wondering who it is who is behind this.

Last I read about DeLorean, the owner of the brand was some spare parts and repair company located in Texas focused on working on old DeLoreans.

Did they license the brand to someone? Did they raise money and essentially create a car development company? Something smells fishy.

 

[Dan_D]

Agreed.

I'm also wondering who it is who is behind this.

Last I read about DeLorean, the owner of the brand was some spare parts and repair company located in Texas focused on working on old DeLoreans.

Did they license the brand to someone? Did they raise money and essentially create a car development company? Something smells fishy.

The current company bought up the old stock of DeLorean parts and started making some new parts. They also produce complete DeLoreans using a combination of old stock and new parts. In essence, they've been a car company for several years now. I guess they've graduated to entirely new designs. It's likely the company has secured additional financing through investors to R&D a new car like this as R&D for an entire car isn't cheap.

 

[Burticus]

I'm an OG Delorean fanboy, and this does not interest me.

 

[Dan_D]

I'm an OG Delorean fanboy, and this does not interest me.

There aren't enough design cues from the original.

 

[Zarathustra]

There aren't enough design cues from the original.

True.

At least they could have mnade it a two seater, given it more of a squared off look with retro looking dual beam headlights and stainless body panels.

Not everything with gullwing doors is a DeLorean.

It kind of reminds me a little of the Herrera Outlaw GTS from Cyberpunk (except for the gull wing doors)

 

[MadMummy76]

I hate this trend that everyone doing electric cars are trying to copy tesla. Why can't they do a different design? Same simplistic interior, same touchscreen controls that are patently awful, even the design of the seats is a direct ripoff.

I don't like it one bit, this is the type of design that will look awfully dated in 4-5 years. Just as the Tesla while seemed exciting when new, now I just see it as a bar of soap on the road.

 

[Zarathustra]

I hate this trend that everyone doing electric cars are trying to copy tesla. Why can't they do a different design? Same simplistic interior, same touchscreen controls that are patently awful, even the design of the seats is a direct ripoff.

I don't like it one bit, this is the type of design that will look awfully dated in 4-5 years. Just as the Tesla while seemed exciting when new, now I just see it as a bar of soap on the road.

I don't think it is too bad. If they hadn't called it a DeLorean, I probably would mind it less.

I mean, the flares and venturi tunnels (fake or functional, who knows) as well as the gullwing doors are a little much, but I tend to like large-ish sporty sedans.

As far as the interior screens go, just about ever last car is doing that now. People expect touch screens and internet integration in their cars these days, and there are few other ways to do that right. Even a $16k Kia or Hyundai come with built in touch screens now.

I'm with you though, I prefer tactile buttons and switches too, but how do you integrate - say - Spotify without a touch interface? or at least without a large screen. I guess you could always integrate a tactile keyboard into the dash for searching, but that would be a little much.

At least the steering wheel is round (sort of) and they haven't gotten rid of the instrument cluster behind the wheel like Tesla now hasin - I think - all of their models. This is a better interior design than Tesla, IMHO.

I don't care for how integrated the cars have become though. I mean, they have microphones, and GPS systems and cameras. Who knows what the hell they are recording and sending back home to the mothership.

My perfect large electric sedan would probably be a restored and converted first gen late model Audi A8/S8. New enough to be sleek-ish looking, yet from the era when luxury was supposed to be under-stated. The last year of the first gen, a 2002 would do nicely. Yank all the oily stuff out, install a battery pack and electric motor. Yank out the stock head unit (which actually had a 90's screen in it ) and replace it with a custom bezel fitted Android Tablet (if there is still an even halfway decent one to be found) but keep all the other tactile buttons.

There's a car I'd be happy with.





Timeless elegance.

 

[MadMummy76]

I don't think it is too bad. If they hadn't called it a DeLorean, I probably would mind it less.

Well to me it is bathtub on the inside, bar of soap from the outside. It has no distinguishing features compared to a Tesla.

I mean, the flares and venturi tunnels (fake or functional, who knows) as well as the gullwing doors are a little much, but I tend to like large-ish sporty sedans.

Presumably the gullwing doors are there so they can say it's an homage to the original. I personally don't care, because obviously this is a luxury car that will never be affordable to a middle class person from Eastern Europe. And who would want to buy a 10 year old electric car?

As far as the interior screens go, just about ever last car is doing that now. People expect touch screens and internet integration in their cars these days, and there are few other ways to do that right. Even a $16k Kia or Hyundai come with built in touch screens now.

I don't think they expect it, as much as companies trying to copy tesla, as much as they try to copy the worst aspects of apple. Just because they copy it doesn't make it a good thing: Even if the shills will go out of their way to defend it, it seems to me that real users are complaining that it's hard to get to climate controls, etc.

I'm with you though, I prefer tactile buttons and switches too, but how do you integrate - say - Spotify without a touch interface? or at least without a large screen. I guess you could always integrate a tactile keyboard into the dash for searching, but that would be a little much.

You can have both, it's not that difficult. You don't need a 21" screen to have spotify, or whatever size this has.

At least the steering wheel is round (sort of) and they haven't gotten rid of the instrument cluster behind the wheel like Tesla now hasin - I think - all of their models. This is a better interior design than Tesla, IMHO.

A bathtub is a bathtub, I think only the Model3 has nothing behind the steering wheel under the guise of cost savings.

I don't care for how integrated the cars have become though. I mean, they have microphones, and GPS systems and cameras. Who knows what the hell they are recording and sending back home to the mothership.

Probably everything. And they say it is fine because it is anonymized, but all they'd need to do is run a query on the database to attach a name to any data they collected, but since they are storing it in a separate database they can pretend that it is not personally identifiable.

My perfect large electric sedan would probably be a restored and converted first gen late model Audi A8/S8. New enough to be sleek-ish looking, yet from the era when luxury was supposed to be under-stated. The last year of the first gen, a 2002 would do nicely. Yank all the oily stuff out, install a battery pack and electric motor. Yank out the stock head unit (which actually had a 90's screen in it ) and replace it with a custom bezel fitted Android Tablet (if there is still an even halfway decent one to be found) but keep all the other tactile buttons.

There's a car I'd be happy with.

The Ronin Audi.

I prefer this instead:

 

[Niner51]

Too many seats.

Just about everything does now it seems. Remember when trucks were a single cab and a bench seat? If you seen anything more than a regular cab on a truck it looked big, long, and odd. Now if you see a regular cab truck it looks small and odd.

I hate this trend that everyone doing electric cars are trying to copy tesla. Why can't they do a different design? Same simplistic interior, same touchscreen controls that are patently awful, even the design of the seats is a direct ripoff.

I think it's more of a government push than anything, just like the automatic start/stop in most current vehicles. Just got my new truck the other day, and I'm thankful every time I start it that I don't have to push that "A" button on my dash.
We just got a Mustang Mach-E in at the dealership last week and it lasted less than two days on the lot. They, along with other vehicles are in high demand.

 

[MadMummy76]

I think it's more of a government push than anything, just like the automatic start/stop in most current vehicles. Just got my new truck the other day, and I'm thankful every time I start it that I don't have to push that "A" button on my dash.
We just got a Mustang Mach-E in at the dealership last week and it lasted less than two days on the lot. They, along with other vehicles are in high demand.

How is a bad, un-ergonomic interior a government push?

 

[Brian_B]

I think it's more of a government push than anything, just like the automatic start/stop in most current vehicles. Just got my new truck the other day, and I'm thankful every time I start it that I don't have to push that "A" button on my dash.

I'm so ready for the D button to override the automatic breathlyzer the government decided we needed in new models

More annoying, bet less prevalent - trucks that decide they need to go into limp mode because they don't think you are meeting emissions standards. There's no button to override that (legally, anyway)

 

[Endgame]

Some details from electrek:
https://electrek.co/2022/05/30/delo...l-winged-sport-sedan-that-does-0-88-in-4-35s/

While it is a whole new company, DeLorean has partnered with Italdesign, the design firm that worked on the original DeLorean, to design the Alpha5. The design pays slighthomage to the original with its gull-wing doors and louvered rear window, but that’s really about where the similarities end.

 

[Uvilla]

Yeah, no. That aint even delorean adjacent.

 

[Zarathustra]

I'm so ready for the D button to override the automatic breathlyzer the government decided we needed in new models

More annoying, bet less prevalent - trucks that decide they need to go into limp mode because they don't think you are meeting emissions standards. There's no button to override that (legally, anyway)

So, I read that completely differently. That all cars must be compatible with automatic breathalyzers, not that every car must have one.

Presumably to make it easier for repeat DUI offenders to have their court ordered units installed in their cars, not that  everyone would have to have them.

 

[Brian_B]

So, I read that completely differently. That all cars must be compatible with automatic breathalyzers, not that every car must have one.

Presumably to make it easier for repeat DUI offenders to have their court ordered units installed in their cars, not that  everyone would have to have them.

I hope you are right