"The highlight of the trip was viewing this rare piece of DeLorean history, the Giugiaro wooden mock up. Download the video to view this masterpiece."

Real Media Movie Clip Download:

Wood Mock-Up [1.6 MB]

As if to prove the point, DeLorean claims that twice in his life he gave away every cent he had and started over, just for fun - just to see if he could still do it.

"The left mold of this car is the original 1976 design, compared to the productionized mold of the car found on the right. Have fun noticing the subtle but yet drastic differences throughout these pictures."

Indeed Mr. DeLorean does know something about designing cars. His tenure at Pontiac produced innovations which made that division the talk of the industry and - no less important - sold Pontiacs.

"This view is of the productionized mold. This car is made out of very smooth wood, and the black outlines for the doors, etc. are made with black tape."

Just as it says in the brochure, the DeLorean corners with mild steady state understeer and grips well by the standards of the day. If it is let down, it is by boulevard-tuned suspension which, while providing a compliant ride, seems too soft to keep a proper rein on the large mass of engine behind the rear axle.

"The rear section shows a big difference in esthetic appearances. Something funny I noticed on this mold is that whoever put the paper rims on the wheels made a mistake. They placed the productionized rims on the prototype Pirelli tires, something not caught by others at the show I believe! :-)"

Although many thought DeLorean would eventually become the company's president or chairman, he was finding his work at GM and life in Detroit less and less satisfying. Unable to reconcile his personal conflicts, he quit.

"Notice how much smoother the lines throughout the productionized car are compared to the prototype vehicle. Press here for the same view to compare".