The ’81 DeLorean DMC-12 is strongly considered as a car that was ahead of its time. This sport-tuned sports car with stainless steel body and gull-wing doors is one vehicle that still captures stares on the road. The Hot Wheels ’81 DeLorean DMC-12 is no different. Since its release as part of the 2010 New Models Series (shown below), this casting has been a collector favorite. It is unclear as to why it took so long to get the DeLorean into the Hot Wheels lineup The origin story of the Turismo lends some clues involving its early absence explaining that the DeLorean was to be released as a Hot Wheels vehicle in 1981, but after Hot Wheels submitted the design to DMC for approval, the design was rejected. The result was a modification of the design and Hot Wheels releasing an unlicensed version of the car named, Turismo.

Fast-forward to 2009. Hot Wheels sculptor, Manson Cheung who is the owner of a real 1981 DeLorean led the charge to bring this model to Hot Wheels. He designed and sculpted the casting you see below. Since its initial release as part of the 2010 New Models, the DeLorean has come back in full-force. At least 10 versions of the ’81 DeLorean DMC-12 are out there in addition to the very similar casting of the same DeLorean model that features opening gull-wing doors. In 2011, Hot Wheels also released the DeLorean Time Machine from the 1985 movie, Back to the Future, which has a few castings of its own including the original BTTF Time Machine, the BTTF Time Machine with Mr. Fusion and the BTTF Time Machine in Hover Mode.

A cool feature on this casting is that the rear louvers flip up revealing the DeLorean’s engine cover >>> SEEN HERE.

RELEASE DETAILS: Metalflake Silver Body (metal). Light Blue Tinted Windows. Light Gray Interior. Chrome 10-Spoke (10SP) Wheels. Black Base (plastic). Made in Malaysia. Toy# R0931. Released in 2010 as part of the 2010 New Models Series.