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DeLorean Presents the Alpha5, the EVolved Halo Car of the Company

It seems that EVolved was more of an idea than properly a new vehicle from DeLorean. The company just revealed that its next car would be called Alpha5, which explains the stylized V that it presents in so many of its design aspects (V is the Roman numeral equivalent to five). With its final name, we also have plenty of technical details about the EV that will make its premiere at the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance in August.
DeLorean Alpha5 58 photos
Photo: DeLorean Motor Company
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The DeLorean Alpha5 is 5 meters (196.9 inches) long, 2,04 m (80.3 in) wide, 1.37 m (53.9 in) tall, and has a surprisingly short wheelbase of 2.30 m (90.6 in), due to the long frontal (1 m, or 39.35 in) and rear (2 m, or 78.7 in) overhangs. The company wants the four-seater (2+2, perhaps) to have a top speed of 155 mph (250 kph) and a 0-to-60-mph (97-kph) acceleration time of 2.99 seconds.

Jokingly, it also decided to estimate how long the Alpha5 would take to go from 0 to 88 mph (4.35 s), the speed the DMC-12 needed to travel in time in the Back to the Future movie. That is not the only element from that story that DeLorean wants to promote.

According to Autocar, the Alpha5 will have a limited series of 88 cars. These collector goods will be exclusive for track use and associated with NFTs. DeLorean plans to have a road-legal version, which also tends to be exclusive due to low-volume production and a potentially hefty price tag. That’s a good strategy, selling two cars instead of one right off the bat: one to eventually take to events or keep in a car collection, and the other to drive around.

DeLorean Alpha5
Photo: DeLorean Motor Company
The Alpha5 will be an electric car, which is coherent with what EVolved suggests: an evolution with EVs. DeLorean said it would have a battery pack with more than 100 kWh for more than 300 miles (483 km) of range. With such a short wheelbase, we wonder how the company will make such a big battery pack fit: some battery modules may be placed after the axles, which is not the best solution for them. The drag coefficient of 0.23 is good, but not impressive. The Lucid Air and the Mercedes-Benz EQS did a better job in that regard.

DeLorean also told Autocar which other vehicles it plans to present after the Alpha5: an electric sedan (certainly with an eye on the Chinese market), an SUV powered by hydrogen (for higher sales volumes, even if that does not make sense), and a sports coupe.

The company will put this last car for sale right after the Alpha5, and it will have a V8 engine. We just wonder why it will not make it electric, but we have a clue why that is the case: it seems that this coupe will be a sort of successor to the DMC-12.

DeLorean Alpha5
Photo: DeLorean Motor Company
DeLorean is also working on an upgraded version of that car to celebrate its 40th anniversary. To be honest, it will be the 41st or 42nd anniversary because the vehicle was released in 1981. If we were to bet, we’d say both the upgraded DMC-12 and the new coupe will get the same V8 for the company to need a higher volume of engines and more purchasing power with whoever is their supplier. Both cars may become a tribute to combustion engines before they are gone for good.

Of all these new vehicles, the one that made us more curious is the SUV powered by hydrogen. To achieve high sales volumes, it needs to ensure owners will have peace of mind when getting more energy to it in whatever form it consumes, and the lack of hydrogen stations worldwide will make it difficult for this vehicle to rely only on this gas.

DeLorean Alpha5
Photo: DeLorean Motor Company
Either DeLorean made a deal with NamX to use the same hydrogen bottles that this company plans the NamX HUV to utilize, or it will follow Renault’s strategy with the Scénic Vision. The French automaker gave its SUV concept a small battery pack that can be recharged for everyday use and a fuel cell as a range extender for long journeys. It will be interesting to see what DeLorean is planning.

Whatever it is, DeLorean will make an IPO – possibly in August – to fund its plans. As strong and resilient as the brand is, it will need to be persuasive or present an amazing business plan to get the investments it needs. It may also already have a partner with deep pockets to get things going, but it did not disclose who this partner is. We’ll try to discover that as soon as possible.
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
Gustavo Henrique Ruffo profile photo

Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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