The cars – immortalised by the Back To The Future film franchise four decades ago – are known for their gullwing doors and unpainted stainless steel bodywork and have become a collector’s item.
Around 9,000 DeLorean DMC-12s rolled off the DeLorean Motor Company assembly line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, in 1981.
The company collapsed into insolvency the following year.
John DeLorean was then charged with drug trafficking in October 1982, but a jury found him not guilty in 1984, although his reputation suffered badly.
Currently, some 303 DeLoreans are taxed for use on public roads in the UK, according to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency figures obtained by online auction platform Collecting Cars.
Robert Lamrock beside a DMC12 on the first floor of Selfridge's in London.
However, Robert Lamrock, 71, of the DeLorean Owners Association, maintains that the car is still popular with the public in Northern Ireland.
“I take my car out and people are flashing their lights or tooting their horn at you,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.
“I've been to car shows where there’s been Ferraris and Lamborghinis and the people all flock over to the the the DeLorean, because it's unique.”
He said he still senses a local “pride” in the DeLorean in Northern Ireland, and credits the controversial owner with having the vision build the car how and where he did.
The iconic Delorean (Credit: Russell Pritchard / Presseye)
“John, despite all his errors, was a genius. The car was built around the needs and desires of the con...
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