The DeLorean Motor Company does not have a rich history. The man behind the company, John DeLorean, was famous and not always for the right reasons. The DMC-12 is the only product it made, but it was rubbish. There's only one reason we love it so much, and you can probably guess what that is. Oddly, the DMC-12 actually struggled to hit 88 mph, at least within the short space provided in that famous movie.

In short, DeLorean doesn't have a history, but now it has released a slew of models based on "what if?" What if John DeLorean hadn't been arrested for smuggling Nose Candy? What if the Belfast factory didn't go bust? What if the DMC-12 was a success, making the brand profit enough to produce a successor?

Wonder no longer because DeLorean recently unveiled an updated history to replace the slightly awkward one it currently has. DeLorean is also being brought back to life, which means it's worth looking back in time for inspiration. Or a lesson on how not to do business.

"To understand where we are going, we have to know where we have been," said Troy Beetz, CMO of DeLorean Motor Company. "We have a responsibility to explore and honor the brand's history while curating its future."

Not many people know this, but John DeLorean started working on a four/five-seat car in 1981. It was called the DMC-24, and it lived on in concept sketches. These sketches prove that DeLorean would have eventually moved away from the famous stainless-steel body. Using these images, the new DeLorean created a digital rendering of what the DMC-24 would have been.

The same goes for the Alpha2 roadster, first designed in 1996. The roadster was DeLorean's first departure from the design DNA established by the DMC-12. In 2006, the Alpha3 was born. A year before, DeLorean died of a stroke, meaning it was the first car the founder did not see. The Alpha4 hydrogen SUV followed in 2013.

In the 2020s, the entire company was reborn under the DeLorean Motor Company Inc banner. It's a new energy company using the beloved old name to build EVs. At the end of May 2022, it unveiled the Alpha5 EV, the gull-winged spiritual successor to the DMC-12. If it makes it into production, it will compete with the Lucid Air.

It's a pity the manufacturer didn't work out because this deep dive into the archives and what could have been proved that John DeLorean was one of the most innovative men to ever work in the automotive industry.