The year was 1985. Then it was 1955. Then it was 1985 again. "Back to the Future" took moviegoers on a wild and entertaining trip through time. Michael J. Fox might have had his name at the top of the marquee, but for many the real star of the film was his time machine -- a DeLorean DMC-12.

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John DeLorean and a DMC-12
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John DeLorean, founder of the DeLorean company, poses in a DMC-12.
See more images of classic cars.

The car was undeniably exotic with its stainless-steel panels and upward-swinging doors. It was also unfamiliar to many "Back to the Future" fans, despite the fact that DeLoreans had been on the market since 1981. Then again, the company had gone bankrupt in 1982, reportedly after making fewer than 10,000 cars, so they were pretty rare.

rear of the delorean
Noel Vasquez/Getty Images
Back to the Future made the DeLorean famous,
but flux capacitors are not included in your average DMC-12.

The DeLorean DMC-12 might have had only a brief production life, but its legacy has endured. Fans of the "Back to the Future" films sought out unsold DeLoreans in every corner of the automobile world. The manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for the DMC-12 was $25,000, but for years, dealers were selling them at a loss just to get rid of them. Collectors today might pay thousands more to live out the fantasy of triggering the flux capacitor once they hit 88 miles per hour.

DeLorean DeStruction
The story of the rise and fall of the DeLorean Company is the stuff of legends. Accusations of fraud, mismanagement, political interference and even the involvement of the Irish Republican Army are part of the mythic history of John DeLorean's pet project. DeLorean secured investments from wealthy individuals, corporations and even the British government. When production fell well below projections -- the company was supposed to produce 20,000 cars in 1979 alone -- the company suffered a severe cash-flow problem. It didn't help that John DeLorean himself became the subject of an FBI sting operation related to drug trafficking. Although he was eventually cleared due to the FBI's entrapment tactics, DeLorean's automobile company was already doomed. The British government tried to keep the manufacturing plant in operation after the company's demise, but gave up when operation costs well exceeded any profit. All existing parts and cars were sold off at auction.

In this article, we'll look at the DeLorean's features and specifications and how a Texas-based company plans to produce DMC-12s more than 20 years after the original company folded.

In the next section, we'll look at the DeLorean's features.