John Z. Delorean fans the world over are buzzing over the most recent offering from the company’s seized holdings from its bankruptcy. Included in this special auction are 24 pages of writing and sketching by JZD, focused on a “Luxury Sedan” that would have featured a Citroen CX chassis, stainless steel skin, carbon fiber door reinforcements, air bags, and a possible assembly partnership with Bricklin or Jensen. Yes, JZD dreamed big.
Interesting aspects of Delorean’s dream for this car include a “Gucci interior,” and a sales proposition for “super athletes and rock stars.” Check out one of the sketches where he does some back-of-the-envelope math to work out the financial possibility of his dream.
The sketches and ideas come from October and December of 1976, roughly one year after the creation of the DeLorean Motor Company. It should be noted that September of 1976 was the time that the first prototypes of the DMC-12 would start coming to life and also the time that the company was aggressively trying to build its dealer network. As those who study the man already know, Delorean was never short of new ideas. Even in the midst of one all-consuming task, he would frequently sketch newer, bigger ideas. Some might say that if he had simply focused on the DMC-12 and that alone, the company’s fortunes might have been different.
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