Delorean

John Delorean was born in 1925 in Detroit the heart of the American automotive industry. His father was from Romania, the youngest of 13 children and his mother was from Hungary.

While still at college he worked part time for Chrysler until he graduated with a masters degree in automotive engineering.

Throughout his career he had many innovative ideas which assured his meteoric rise to the top of General Motors. Very soon he was a celebrity in the automotive world and linked to many famous people in the entertainment business.

He left GM to persue his dream of forming his own company, The Delorean Motor Company. It was built in Northern Ireland with financial backing from the Northern Ireland Develpment Agency.

It produced 9000 cars and employed 2000 workers before the British government ordered its closure in 1982.

With his company in financial trouble, John Delorean, desperate for funds, was charged with trafficking cocaine by the US government as a result of a “sting “ set up by the FBI with video evidence. On August 16 1984, he was found not guilty of all charges due to entrapment.

John Delorean was a great innovator with many patents filed. One was uncovered in 2006 by the US Patent and Trademark office for a raised monorail transport. His dream lives on through the many Delorean owners clubs throughout the world with the majority of cars surviving to this day due to their robust design and construction.