Wheels-Near-U blog

After looking at the American Movie Muscle of the Mustang last week we are now going to take a look at something more futuristic (for the 1980’s) - The De Lorean DMC-12 from Back to the Future. The first Back to the Future film was released in 1985 and was to be the first in a series of three and was excepted well in America grossing over 200 million dollars in the U.S Box Office. Essentially the story features a wacky white haired scientist who manages to convert a quirky but average car that was the De Lorean into a time travelling vessel, aided by the most famous time travelling car part - the Flux Capacitor.The first film then see’s this time travelling car let Michael J Fox’s character Marty McFly accidentally go back to 1955 only to realise that he did not bring any extra plutonium, the fuel to power his slightly un-ecological De Lorean. This leads to a whole host of comedic and entertaining film scenes, ending with Marty and his scientist friend (the 1955 version) harnessing the raw power of lightning to power the gull wing-doored time machine.

The De Lorean didn’t stop with just 1 film under its belt it went on to feature in two more Back to the Future Titles, sending the time travelling duo both back into the future (2015) and back into the past (1885.) The car gained a lot of following from its film debut and there are said to be over 100 custom built copies of the De Lorean time machine car across the world.

Originally designed to be sold into an American market the De Lorean DMC-12 was produced in Dunmurry, Northen Ireland by the De Lorean Motor Company. The DMC-12 was changed mid production several times, the bonnet style, interior and even wheels were re-engineered as the cars were being built. This means that there are several versions of the De Lorean that are still around today and although earlier versions were problematic, an improvement in quality control meant they were able to introduce a 12000 mile warranty with all new cars, something which proved their improvements to customers worldwide. Unfortunately due to John De Lorean (the creator of the car and the owner of DMC) being arrested, the De Lorean Motor Company went bankrupt in 1982, never to produce motor cars again.

However in 2005 the DeLorean ws even redesigned by an unknown artist and for some time people believed there was a come back in the works, however this turned out to be a modified drawing of a Lamborghini Murcielago, you can see that drawing below - it shows this movie motor still remains fresh in peoples minds over 20 years after it was first introduced in the Cinemas.

If you would like to see more photo’s of the De Lorean DMC-12 or perhaps some of the other Film Vehicles we are looking at in this series why not have a look at our Movie Motors Gallery! We have already looked at James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5, the Mustang GT from countless films and now now the De Lorean from Back to the Future!

This weeks Movie Motors brings you a car from across the pond, The Mustang GT. The star of hundreds of motoring movies over the last 40 or so years the Mustang is seen as an iconic slice of America, an American Muscle Car which fits nicely into almost all genres of film, from Fast Car action films such as Gone in 60 Seconds (2000 Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie) and Bullit (1968 Steve McQueen) to films like Back to the Future II (1989) and Bruce Almighty (2000) and even music videos (Guns N Roses “Don’t Cry” features a Shelby GT-350H.)

The list of films in which the Mustang is featured is believed to top 1000, making the Mustang well and truly a Movie Motor! The cars featured show the development of the Mustang and the variety of different models and variants available. For example in the 1968 film Bullit starring Steve McQueen features a 1968 Ford Mustang G.T.390 Fastback. A car that has become synonymous with the film and inspired the new models of the mustang since 2001.

Gone in 60 Seconds is another film which features a rare Mustang, namely the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT 500 (nicknamed Eleanor in the film.) The film was produced in 2000 and featured Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie as part of a crack team of car thieves. The penultimate scene of this film features Nicholas Cage attempting to escape with the Shelby Mustang from a whole host of law enforcement officers, offering a similar car chase scenario to that of Bullitt. Within the film the car is shown to be iconic and rare and is the last in a long line of expensive and sought after cars.

But the mustang is not included in every film in such a appreciative way, other motoring movies such as Thelma and Louise (1991), Back to the Future and Superman II (1980) the cars are more set pieces than stars. Eitherway the Mustang and all its variants have become infused within the American culture, so much so that it seems almost intrinsic to American Movie Making. The Mustang has secured its place as one of the Wheels-Near-U Movie Motors.

You can view some great Motoring Movie Clips in our Car Movie Clips archive or alternatively check out our Movie Motors Gallery!

As part of our new series, Movie Motors will look at some of the most renowned motor vehicles within movies. From Classic Cars that made the film classic to original concepts that rely on special effects. To begin this new series we will start with a James Bond Classic. The Aston Martin DB5, a stunning car brought to stardom by its appearances in James Bond films.The Aston Martin DB5 has managed to appear in 5 different James Bond films, namely: Goldfinger, Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and the most recently produced Casino Royale. Driven by four different actors the car has been kitted out with a fairly substantial range of gadgetry throughout its film debuts, but in its latest outing the DB5 was a standard car that was won by Daniel Craig in a Poker game (Casino Royale.) This inclusion of the stock version of the car makes a kind backdrop for the introduction of James Bond’s latest car - the Aston Martin DBS.

First produced in 1963 the Aston Martin DB5 was essentially a DB4 with mechanical improvements such as a larger engine (increased in capacity from 3.7 litre to a 4.0 litre), 3 SU carburettors and the addition of a 5 speed gearbox. All in all it made for a 282 break horse power car capable of speeds up to 141 miles per hour.

As standard the Aston Martin DB5 came with reclining seats, electric windows, pile carpets and a fire extinguisher. Every model came with a 4 seat 2 door layout and the car was priced at £4562 (December 1963.)

Originally Ian Flemming (author of the James Bond books) had written that James Bond would drive an Aston Martin DB Mark III in Goldfinger, but as Aston Martin had the DB5 almost ready for launch they proposed to use that car instead. Only 2 cars were used in the original filming with a further two being used for publicity.

In the film Goldfinger (1964 starring Sean Connery) there were lots of gadgets added to the Aston Martin DB5, designed to help James Bond avoid mishaps. These were later comically re-engineered onto a rover on a top gear episode named “Bond Car on a Budget”. The DB5 also holds the record as the slowest car to have a Top Gear Power Lap.

Some of the gadgets and features added to the 1964 DB5 included:

• Forward Firing Browning .30 caliber automatic machine guns behind the cars front indicators
• Retractable blades in the tyre spinners
• Rising armored bullet-proof rear screen
• Radio telephone
• Radar scanner and hidden tracking screen
• Passenger ejector seat
• Oil slick spray from rear light cluster
• Caltrops from rear light cluster
• Smoke screen from exhausts
• Revolving number plates — “BMT 216A” UK, “4711-EA-62″ France, and “LU 6789″ Switzerland
• Front and rear extending rams
• Gun cabinet under driver’s seat

The DB5 will be remembered forever as a Bond car and is probably the beginning of a long line of Bond featured Aston Martins.

Want to see more of the Aston DB5? Try viewing our Movie Motors Gallery!