1981 Delorean

VIN 615

Early DeLorean Motor Company Training Car

We are delighted to offer what is undoubtedly one of the more fascinating and historically significant DeLorean DMC-12s to come to market.

This is chassis number 615, making it the 116th DeLorean in the production sequence, and is understood to be one of approximately a dozen early cars used by the DeLorean Motor Company as training vehicles, travelling to dealerships to enable technicians to familiarise themselves with and learn how to service the then-new DMC-12.

This isn’t simply a low-numbered early DeLorean with an interesting story attached to it. The car retains numerous fascinating early-production features and, most notably, carries its “DELOREAN MOTOR COMPANY – TRAINING CAR” identification at the base of the original windscreen.

It has previously been featured by DeLorean Nation in the USA, prior to its restoration, providing a fascinating record of this particular chassis before the extensive work subsequently undertaken.

For the serious DeLorean collector, VIN 615 represents an opportunity to acquire a car with a story and specification quite unlike that of a conventional production DMC-12.

HISTORY & PROVENANCE

Chassis 615 is a very early-production DeLorean and is understood to have been one of approximately a dozen unpainted cars used by DeLorean Motor Company as training vehicles.

Rather than being immediately supplied as an ordinary retail car, these vehicles are understood to have visited dealerships to assist in training technicians on the servicing and maintenance of the new DMC-12.

Its historical significance is further supported by the unusual early-production details that remain with the car and its DeLorean Motor Company Training Car identification.

The car was subsequently featured by DeLorean Nation in the United States, prior to restoration work being undertaken. This provides an unusual opportunity to see the car earlier in its life and prior to its transformation into the example offered today.

Following that feature, the DeLorean was recommissioned in America before eventually coming to the United Kingdom, where it was registered in 2022.

The previous seller advised that restoration work was carried out with involvement from renowned DeLorean specialists PJ Grady, including a comprehensive engine rebuild involving bearings and seals.

The resulting car is a remarkably well-presented early DMC-12.

MECHANICAL CONDITION

At the heart of the DMC-12 is the familiar 2.8-litre V6, coupled in this instance to the automatic transmission.

The engine runs beautifully and the car will be supplied in full working order following inspection, allowing its next custodian to enjoy it rather than simply display it.

Like all DeLorean’s, there are some idiosyncrasies with occasional ignition issues and electrical components occasionally deciding not to work - that is perfectly normal for a DMC, any of you that have owned one will have experienced the same! It is in fine fettle in the engine compartment as you will see by the photographs. Marty had this issue in 1955 but a head butt of the steering wheel normally does the trick!

The previous restoration and recommissioning work is clearly evident throughout the car, including underneath, where its condition is particularly impressive.

Prior to sale the DeLorean will undergo an inspection and any matters necessary to ensure that the car is presented in full working order will be attended to.

This is therefore not being offered as a recommissioning project or a DeLorean requiring a lengthy list of immediate jobs. It is being prepared as a car to be driven, shown and enjoyed.

EXTERIOR

Few cars are as instantly recognisable as a DeLorean.

The brushed stainless-steel bodywork is one of the defining features of the DMC-12 and presents extremely well on this example following its restoration.

The stainless panels are in excellent condition and the car presents beautifully from every angle.

All of the plastic bumper sections are in excellent condition, with the front and rear of the car presenting particularly well. There is no accident or body damage to detract from the appearance of the car.

It also retains the distinctive dark wheels, understood to be another unusual feature associated with these early training cars. They present extremely well and are fitted with matching Cooper Cobra Radial tyres.

Other fascinating early-car details include the fuel-flap bonnet, textured pods within the engine compartment and the unpainted underside of the engine cover.

These are precisely the sorts of details that distinguish an exceptionally early DMC-12 from the thousands of cars which followed it down the production line.

And then there is the windscreen.

The car retains what is understood to be its original windscreen, complete with the extremely important “DELOREAN MOTOR COMPANY – TRAINING CAR” identification visible at its base.

There is a crack in the screen.

Ordinarily, replacing a cracked windscreen would be an obvious part of preparing a car for sale. In this instance, however, we have deliberately chosen not to remove it because doing so would mean losing an original component carrying an important part of the car’s training-car history.

A replacement windscreen can be supplied with the car if required, leaving the decision with its next owner as to whether originality or replacement is their preference.

For a collector, we suspect the original screen and its Training Car identification may well be considered considerably more interesting than a perfect modern replacement.

INTERIOR

Open those iconic gullwing doors and the interior continues the theme.

The cabin presents extremely well throughout following the restoration, with the leather showing very little evidence of wear.

Of particular interest is the rare early stitched-leather instrument binnacle, another detail associated with these very early cars and quite different from later production examples.

The dashboard, switchgear, seats, carpets, door trims and associated interior fittings all combine to create a cabin that feels remarkably special.

It is difficult to sit behind the wheel of any DeLorean without appreciating just how extraordinary the design must have appeared when it arrived in 1981.

In VIN 615, however, you are sitting in one of the very earliest examples of that design.

AN IMPORTANT DELOREAN

There are plenty of DeLoreans.

There are considerably fewer exceptional DeLoreans.

And then there are cars such as VIN 615.

Its significance lies not simply in condition, mileage or specification, but in its position right at the beginning of the DMC-12 story.

Chassis 615.

The 116th car in the DeLorean production sequence.

Understood to be one of approximately a dozen DeLorean Motor Company training vehicles.

Original Training Car identification.

Rare early-production features.

Featured by DeLorean Nation in America.

Restored and recommissioned with specialist involvement.

UK registered.

And now presented in excellent condition and being prepared in full working order for its next owner.

For somebody assembling a serious DeLorean collection, these are the details that make the difference between buying another example of the model and acquiring a particular piece of the company’s history.

PAPERWORK & HISTORY

As with many cars that have travelled internationally during their lives, the physical history file is not enormous.

We would therefore rather be completely transparent about that than attempt to suggest otherwise.

What the car does have is a fascinating documented identity, its previous DeLorean Nation feature, its known restoration history, its unusual surviving early-production features and the Training Car identification itself.

The car was subsequently sold in the UK in December 2024, when documentation recorded it as VIN SCEDT26T3BD000615 and registration MKU 802W.

We would encourage any genuinely interested collector to examine the car, its history and its unusual early-production details personally.

CONCLUSION

We’ve dealt with special and unusual cars for many years, and every so often something comes along that is difficult to compare directly with anything else currently on the market.

DeLorean VIN 615 is one of those cars.

The DMC-12 has become one of the most recognisable cars ever produced, but this example takes you back to the very beginning of that story.

Before the film fame.

Before the DMC-12 became a cultural icon.

This car was already there.

As the 116th production DeLorean and an understood early DeLorean Motor Company training vehicle, VIN 615 offers something that cannot simply be replicated by restoring another DMC-12.

Its combination of exceptionally early chassis number, fascinating training history, surviving early-production details, restored condition and usability makes it a particularly compelling proposition for the collector.

It will be supplied fully inspected and in full working order, with the engine running beautifully and the car ready to be enjoyed.

The original windscreen remains fitted because of its Training Car identification; a replacement screen can be supplied should the next owner wish to change it.

Walk around video available via WhatsApp