DeLorean Time Machine Coloring Page: Free Printable PDF

DeLorean Time Machine: History & Fun Facts

A Stainless Steel Body With No Paint

The real DMC-12 wore body panels made from brushed stainless steel instead of painted sheet metal, so factory cars left the assembly line without a single coat of paint anywhere on the outer skin. That bare metal finish is why so many surviving DeLoreans still look shiny and silver decades after they were built, since stainless steel resists rust in a way ordinary painted steel never could.

Giorgetto Giugiaro's Wedge Design

Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro drew the DeLorean's flat, angular wedge shape, the same low-nose, sharp-crease style he used on several other sports cars of the era. That flat hood and pointed nose traced on this page came from a design philosophy built around straight lines and hard edges instead of the curved, rounded shapes common on many other cars of the time.

Gull-Wing Doors Built for Tight Garages

The DeLorean's doors hinge at the roof and swing straight up rather than out to the side, a layout engineers chose partly so the car could be parked in narrow spaces without needing extra room to open a normal door. Torsion bars built into the hinge mechanism helped hold each door open once it was raised, since the panels were heavier than they looked.

A Short Production Run in Northern Ireland

The DeLorean Motor Company built the DMC-12 for only a few years in the early 1980s at a factory in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, producing roughly 9,000 cars total before the company shut down. That short production run is part of why an original DeLorean stands out so much today, since so few examples were built compared to most other sports cars from the same period.

John DeLorean's Own Car Company

John Z. DeLorean left a long career at General Motors to start his own car company under his own name, betting that a striking design and an ethical, safety-focused pitch could carve out space in a crowded sports car market. Building and selling cars from a brand-new company proved far harder than DeLorean expected, and financial trouble closed the factory only a few years after the first cars reached buyers. Parts, service knowledge, and enthusiast clubs kept the small existing fleet running long after the factory doors shut, which is a big reason so many original DMC-12s are still on the road today. A later company bought the rights to the DeLorean name and continued supplying parts and full replacement cars to keep that small, dedicated fleet on the road for new generations of fans.

Hollywood Turns the Car Into a Time Machine

A 1985 blockbuster film transformed the DeLorean into a time-traveling machine, adding a glowing device behind the seats and a famous line about needing to hit 88 miles per hour. That movie role turned an already unusual-looking sports car into one of the most recognizable vehicles in film history, which is why the wedge shape and gull-wing doors on this page still spark instant recognition today.