[hotstuff]

The DeLorean DMC 12 is the car that was used to build the time machine in the 'Back to the future' movie series.

I was reading some articles about this car and came across this scan from the Autocar magazine - Aug 1986. The last paragraph of this article mentions that parts requests for this car come from "as far away as Japan, India & Saudi Arabia."

Is there a Delorean in India ? Any clues where it might be ?



A pic of a Delorean, to indicate what the car looks like...



Saw this post through the related threads feature. Is this car still in India ?

Originally Posted by V-16

I remember seeing this car in Mumbai. Yes Mumbai had a Delorean and I have seen it and sat in it (stationary). As all cars were this one was also silver (or rather Aluminium) coloured.
I remember seeing it in What was the Apex Garage at Worli where my family's cars would go for repairs. Over the years I had formed a sort of an affectionate bond with the owner Mr. Sethna who since the closure of the garage moved to Pune.
I was a teenager back then and very much interested in learning about how cars are repaired, I would visit his garage, whether or not my cars were nestling in his garage. I remember him tinkering over many an exotic car like some of Mr. Bhogilal's vast collection, Rolls, Bentleys, and one car I remember was the Matra Simca Bagheera with a centre driving position.
Coming back to the Delorean, this was a car with probably Saudi plates as the plates were in Arabic and a young Shiekh would be driving it. I had the good fortune of being seated in the drivers seat when the car was stationed in the garage.
I also saw the same gent a little later in red a BMW M1, with Arabic plates zooming on Marine Drive. Futile as it was, i did try to chase it, mistaking it for a ferrari, in my 1968 Impala and was soon rediced to a spec in his rear view mirror.
I also remember seeing Dr. Ceasari Rossis Immaculate 1968 Ferrari in Apex Garage. The car was taken back to Italy by his wife, after his demise.
After that day i never spotted the Delorean or the M1 again.
A little later when the construction boom took over in the early nineties, Apex garage was also gone.

* The images above are copyright their respective owners.

[Maverick5490]

Ah! Saw Back to the Future last night on some channel and bought back fond memories of the awesome trilogy! Do not know if any exists in India.

[avishar]

The Delorean was a beautiful car,especially with that naked bodywork.Sadly the company went through lots of problems, controversies and losses and the very ambitious project of John Delorean finally ended.They were very underpowered though,thats why they never took off,and that bodywork is very hard to maintain.Even then because of BTTF,this car has a cult following.Not to mention those uber-cool gullwing doors and design.There are companies in US which fabricate entire Deloreans and parts for a large base of owners.

Yes there was an M1 in Bombay at one time.I have heard that the owner sent back the car very soon after he bought it because the ground clearance was too low.

Dr Rossi's Ferrari was the most unique and beautiful Ferrari's in Bombay.It had special lightweight elements like aluminium doors i think,because he often used to take part in Bombay Pune race(?)

Can anyone confirm if there was ever a F40 in Bombay?(I know its a wild goose chase,but have heard some rumours)

[Rosso Corsa]

Since V-16 has clearly mentioned that the DeLorean was on Saudi plates, it means it was never a local car and was brought here on Carnet. Other than that, the chances of a DeLorean in Mumbai are rare, although not zero.

Yes, the M1 was sent back due to a ground-clearance problem. Also, its now clear that 2 M1s have been to Mumbai so far - 1 with Saudi plates on Carnet and the other brought by the Dubhashs.

Originally Posted by avishar

Dr Rossi's Ferrari was the most unique and beautiful Ferrari's in Bombay.It had special lightweight elements like aluminium doors i think,because he often used to take part in Bombay Pune race(?)

Can anyone confirm if there was ever a F40 in Bombay?(I know its a wild goose chase,but have heard some rumours)

Avsihar, the chances of an F40 in India are almost zero. Yet, any car can pop up here. You never know where they could be hidden away !

As for Dr. Rossi's Ferrari, yes he did take part in the Bombay-Pune race once. It was a 275GTB/4 "Competizione" - a clear indication that it had lightweight elements. The car is extremely rare - one of only 6 made in the whole world and bears S/N 9085

[avishar]

Thank you for that S/N no,i never knew it was a proper Competizione.

Yes Bombay has many rare cars,and also some keep coming and going.Including that Miura,that was there sometime back.

[agspins]

When the article mentions that part requests as far away as India, that could mean two things either it was for the same car that Gogi ji mentioned (Probably some part was ordered from Mumbai) or it could be some other car ( Chances are slim).
But the other car that is interesting of the lot is Matra Simca Bagheera, was it on carnet ? or is still hiding/rusting in some basement as was the Ferrari ?

[aa_asif]

My Uncle owned a Delorean DMC-12 stainless steel edition around 2 decades back.
Unfortunately it was not a trouble free one to drive around. Once the coolant was completely leaked in the middle of the freeway and he had to stop the car every 5 minutes to refill the water to take it to the nearest service centre.
Later the transmission fluid leaked and all I remember was him shouting at the showroom guys to "take that damn thing away!". Showroom did a buy back for $12,000 and re-sold it for $18,000 after a week..... Sigh!


Cheers!
Asif