Full Throttle Thursday: DeLorean Delight

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - It was one of the stars of the Back to the Future movies and it didn’t have one line of dialogue.

Not too much screams 1980s like the DeLorean. A stainless steel body, gull wing doors and impressive styling. The Davis family has had a 1981 model since their dad, Jerry, bought it from a man in Cape Girardeau in the early ‘80s.

Dr. Ryan Davis has found memories of the DeLorean and his youth. He and his wife took the car to prom and he and his brother would take it to cruise Broadway.

The DeLorean was the brainchild of John Delorean, a former GM executive who went out on his own in the late ‘70s. When it came out, the DeLorean got the attention of celebrities like Johnny Carson and Sammy Davis, Junior.

Today it’s basically synonymous with the Back to the Future franchise and time travel when Michael J. Fox’s character gets stuck back in time.

Ryan recalls a time his dad got stuck too. He said his dad was driving the DeLorean one day and the hydraulics failed and he was stuck inside the car. So, he drove around to people he knew until finally Ryan’s uncle was able to get him out.

After their dad passed away, the DeLorean sat in storage for many years, until last year, when Ryan’s brother had a surprise for him. He had had the DeLorean restored from original DeLorean parts and then drove it over and surprised Ryan with the car.

One thing you notice driving the DeLorean is what a head turner it is. Ryan said it gets attention whenever they get it out. People like to take pictures of it.

It has a Peugeot V6 engine with 130 horsepower, so it doesn’t exactly Marty McFly, but I can attest that it will do 88 miles an hour.

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