This article has been updated with new information.

Way back in January, we learned that ItalDesign, the company behind the very special Nissan GT-R 50 special edition built to celebrate the iconic Japanese supercar, would be creating a modern-day version of the DeLorean DMC-12. The original was never a great success, despite its cinematic fame, and even decades on from its original and very low production run, you don't have to spend six figures to get your hands on one.

As it turns out, you can even get one at a serious discount, although you will lose out on one wheel. That's because a man in England is converting three-wheeled Reliant Robins into strange DMC-12 lookalikes, but the car isn't even the weirdest part of the story.

This confusing design is the work of a man by the name of Tyler who claims that he is the illegitimate son of John DeLorean, creator of the original DMC-12. Speaking with the Daily Mail in England, he claims that his identity has been kept a secret to protect people around him.

"I've got to be careful what I say as I have people to protect, but the basic outline is that when he was in Northern Ireland my mother briefly met him and that's where I was conceived," says Tyler. "My mother's decision was that no one needed to know."

The man has posted videos of his creations on various social media platforms, calling it the DMC-21. His website claims that the oddball car was "originally created in 1981," although there is no evidence of this anywhere. Nonetheless, we're not qualified to trace ancestry or prove claims about long-lost designs, so let's focus on the car.

Powered by an 850cc engine (likely the original Reliant motor developing 40 horsepower), Tyler claims that his car can reach 100 mph, although we doubt there's anyone who would be willing to risk chasing even 88 mph in something this sketchy. The car also boasts DMC-branded carpets and a fake flux capacitor like in Back to the Future, while the body is painted to mimic the steel body of the original DMC-12.

Last month, Tyler claimed that his car would be ready in a year and would be capable of flight (yeah, okay buddy). An electric variant is reportedly in the works too, but we doubt it'll ever be produced. DeLorean Motor Company is taking Tyler to court for infringement of the DeLorean trademark, but at least he got his five minutes of fame. Judging by his rather narcissistic Instagram posts, that's all he really wanted anyway. We're fully prepared to eat our words if any of Tyler's claims are ever proven true, but we bet that time travel and working flux capacitors will be invented long before that happens.

UPDATE

A CarBuzz reader whose identity shall remain anonymous saw this article on the weekend and got in touch with us to add some more background to the story. According to him, a former schoolmate of "Tyler", the man claiming to be DeLorean's son is actually Ben Granger, who legally changed his name to Tyler DeLorean via deed poll about a year ago. We've also been given a look at the man's Facebook profile that gives evidence that Granger has changed his name, although we won't link that here for the sake of privacy.

Granger grew up in Shropshire county in England and attended Chantry High School. He "was always a bit crazy back then." Our anonymous friend also tells us that he knew both of Granger's parents and feels very sorry for them, noting that Granger has come up with extreme and outlandish stories before. We hope that Granger/DeLorean gets the help he needs.