I am saddened

ItDontGo · Post by **ItDontGo** » 21 Mar 2005, 17:55

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4366733.stm
There is no other car in the history of the automobile with such an amazing story behind it. Drugs deals, terrorism, politics, fraud, Lotus Formula 1 connections, a mysterious death, JZD's beautiful model wife and her showbiz chums... there are loads of books out there trying to explain where the creamed off cash went but no-one knows. Besides maybe 'Chunky' (Colin Chapman) who might not be dead.
Sorry not a Citroen but he tried to get a Citroen engine for it and ended up with a Peugeot.

bxbodger · Post by **bxbodger** » 21 Mar 2005, 18:10

Actually it was a Renault motor-the V6 that also found its way into Volvo's.
I think that was a part of the problem, supercar looks but with a non supercar engine, built by people who didn't know how to build cars ( very much like the Alfasud ) and fitted out like a kit car-does look brilliant though, even now, and even though it is styled very much of its time.

ItDontGo · Post by **ItDontGo** » 21 Mar 2005, 18:49

PRV-6 they called the donkey because it was in Peugeots, Renaults and Volvos. I think it was a colaboration between the three. I know it was in various Renault V6s and thats were people scavange parts from.

fastandfurryous · Post by **fastandfurryous** » 21 Mar 2005, 19:45

I have seen a turbo conversion done to a DMC-12, using Renault 25 turbo components. Gave it the performance, and to some extent the noise that such a fantastic car deserved. Did anyone else see the documentary on TV a little while ago about the DeLorean Saga? fascinating, but you could see it was destined for failure. Shame.

Stuart McB · Post by **Stuart McB** » 22 Mar 2005, 00:47

Didn't all the money get burried in a DeLorean sports car just out side Dublin? I did read some where that DeLorean himself had some of his cars burried at his home in America.

NiSk · Post by **NiSk** » 22 Mar 2005, 01:42

Well they won't rust away in anycase . . .
And if he HAD to use that engine, he could have taken a look at what Alpine did with it . . . now THAT was a sports car . . .and sounded like one!
//NiSk

fastandfurryous · Post by **fastandfurryous** » 22 Mar 2005, 05:44

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Stuart McB</i>

Didn't all the money get burried in a DeLorean sports car just out side Dublin?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Just outside Belfast in fact. The workers at the factory were one of the really great parts of the story, in that with all the troubles of Northern Ireland in the early 80's, this factory managed to employ people from a very high unemployment area, and just about all religous problems were irrelevant at the factory. One of the people in the documentary said that they were encouraged to put up posters of cars rather than catholic/protestant posters.
Aparently if you want one, the very last few made, registered in 1983 were the best ones made.

tomsheppard · Post by **tomsheppard** » 22 Mar 2005, 13:55

Chunky is certainly dead, alas, which is why racing car design has stagnated for the last twenty years. The £2m that was paid to his holding company "Grand Prix Designs" in South America, as a warranty contingency was supposedly withdrawn from the bank the day before the deal went down. Didn't stop the DMC-12 from being a rotten dog though, even with Lotus assisted suspension.