It’s a rare treat to see what’s going on underneath the DeLorean DMC-12’s stainless steel façade. Even taking a peek at the DMC-12’s fiberglass underbody (beneath the stainless) is uncommon, which makes this YouTube video of a DeLorean’s body being lifted away from its frame so interesting — more interesting than watching one go up in a gasoline-fueled blaze.
The video shows some interesting features like the mid-engined car’s front-mounted radiator. Mostly, the separation of body and frame shows the Lotus-like backbone-style frame, in the same vein as Lotus Esprit. The frame similarity is more than just a coincidence: according to Ate up With Motor’s history of the DeLorean, the DMC was famously re-engineered by Lotus itself.
Porsche and BMW were originally approached to fix the DeLorean’s woes before it hit production, but the Germans wanted more time and more money than DeLorean had to offer. However, it was good enough for Lotus. According to Aaron Severson’s history, Lotus borrowed ideas from the Esprit — like its fiberglass body (clad in stainless on the DMC-12) and backbone frame, designed to strengthen the weak body shell.
If you’ve ever wondered what a DeLorean looks like under the skin, with frame, engine, cooling system and suspension intact — check out the video above.
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