A new DeLorean has arrived, right in time for the electric age

The year Twentysomething, as experienced by Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, the US Air Force’s gracefully ageing ‘80s daredevil fighter jet pilot, unquestionably is far more uplifting and gently melancholic an experience then our year 2022, what with COVID, the Ukraine War, recession, inflation, global warming and what not.

With alternative timelines being among the main narrative threads in today’s actual popular culture, it seems only appropriate, logical even, that another icon of the past’s future stages a comeback, in order to remind us of what was while presenting us with a meaningful narrative for today.

So the DeLorean Motor Company is back, under circumstances practically begging for another take on the ‘ethical sports car’ to have a go at presenting us with a better future than the one we deserve.

Given the ample dimensions of this open goal, it seems all the more baffling that the 21st century DeLorean doesn’t merely miss it, but appears to be aiming in no particular direction whatsoever. Gullwing doors and louvers alone do not a DeLorean maketh: Other than that feature, there are barely any worthwhile references to the original DMC-12 model that defined the look of the ‘80s car of the future.

Generally speaking, it is the complete absence of DeLoreanisms that may be considered the defining trait of the DeLorean Alpha 5. There is no playful take on the forms of Giugiaro’s original design, neither in terms of proportions, nor its angular forms or any details - despite Hyundai having provided a highly effective template that could literally be copied without any shame. Not even the highly memorable DMC logo makes a comeback.

So as a means of striking a chord with wannabe Marty McFlys, the DeLorean Alpha 5 is a resounding failure. The second task any successful legacy sequel needs to master - the establishing of a relevant narrative of its own - accordingly represents this DeLorean with only chance at gaining meaning. Not tapping into the ready-made DeLorean iconography could be considered brave and daring indeed, if Alpha 5 represented a genuinely original vision.

How this middle-of-the-road concept - not unpleasant, but utterly lacking in original thought and shapes - is supposed to inform a new DeLorean narrative remains a mystery, however. That this anodyne form was created at Giugiaro-free Italdesign only underlines the barely half-hearted nature of this entire endeavour and adds to the impression that Alpha 5’s creators’ understanding of John Z DeLorean’s pop-cultural legacy is barely superficial.

Speaking of the inventor of the not-so-ethical-after-all-sportscar: for all his myriad talents and flaws, the self-styled scion of French nobility (whose family roots were really to be found in Romania) most definitely knew how to spin a yarn. Dullness was not, to refer to one of today’s regular marketing terms, a strand of ‘the DeLorean DNA’.

The same cannot be said about this piece of pseudo-legacy.

Image credits: Universal Pictures, DeLorean Motor Company