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    7 November 2019

    Travel 'Back to the Future' with this hovercraft DeLorean

    By Mitchell TulkMitchell Tulk
    • Doc, are you telling me you built a time machine out of a DeLorean? (image credit: Matt Riese) Doc, are you telling me you built a time machine out of a DeLorean? (image credit: Matt Riese)
    • The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style? (image credit: Matt Riese) The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style? (image credit: Matt Riese)

    When Back to the Future was released in 1985, the DeLorean DMC-12 instantly became one of the coolest cars to ever grace the big screen.

    It only got cooler when Doc Brown revealed the time machine could also fly.

    Sadly, the cars in real life couldn't do this, but someone in the States has created the closet thing to a flying DeLorean in the shape of a hovercraft.

    Built on top of a Universal Hovercraft UH-13PT, the body is made from plywood and fibreglass, so DeLorean fanboys can rest easy as the owner hasn’t gutted a genuine DMC-12 for the project.

    • Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads. (image credit: Matt Riese) Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads. (image credit: Matt Riese)
    • Wait, Doc, are you telling me...that this sucker is nuclear? (image credit: Matt Riese) Wait, Doc, are you telling me...that this sucker is nuclear? (image credit: Matt Riese)
    • Great Scott! (image credit: Matt Riese) Great Scott! (image credit: Matt Riese)

    Sharing the same dimensions as the actual coupe, the replica features a brushed stainless-steel exterior and those iconic gullwing doors.

    There’s no 2.8-litre PRV V6 or Flux Capacitor here, instead the hovercraft uses a single-cylinder engine running a 24-inch lift fan, plus a 627cc two-cylinder at the rear providing thrust via a 36-inch fan.

    Insert Flux Capacitor joke here. Insert Flux Capacitor joke here.

    In ideal conditions, the craft is able to reach speeds of 50km/h (31mph), so there’s no risk of accidentally traveling back in time.

    After taking 11 years to complete, the DeLorean hovercraft was recently listed for sale on Bringatrailer, where it quickly sold for a tad over $US44,000 ($AUD64,000).

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