Rent a Back to the Future DeLorean

Ever wanted to drive the DeLorean from ‘Back to the Future’? Of course you have. Well, now you can thanks to a canny car rental company in the US. It could cost you a bit though…

The heavily customised 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 is the brainchild of American Mark Shields, who has spent years painstakingly upgrading the car to mimic the iconic design.

[Related story: World falls for Back to the Future hoax]
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His company - TimeMachineRental.com - is based in Minneapolis during summer and Las Vegas through the winter and rents the car out for $1,500 (£960) a day, plus $1 for every mile driven from the vehicle's starting point. For those of us in the UK it could be rather pricy, but the cost didn’t stop one couple hire the car for a wedding in Las Vegas.

Shields spoke about how he came to own the iconic car.

He said: "It wasn't until 1998 when a ‘Back to the Future’ tricked out DeLorean was being raffled off that I ever thought I could own a time machine replica.
 
"That raffle didn't pan out, but I kept in touch with the owner who eventually sold me the car.
 
"The underlying vehicle is a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 built in Belfast, Ireland, by the DeLorean Motor Company.
 
"A new version of this company was reconstituted in the 90's in Houston where I happened to live so I was able to bring the car's operating condition up to a point where I could confidently travel anywhere I want in the United States and neighbouring mainland countries.
 
"Time machine parts are manufactured through a combination of friends and enthusiasts from all over the globe.
 
"As with any movie car replica you'll get your share of mixed reactions. Most people find themselves confused and wondering why they recognise this strange car.
 
"Others will attempt to rationalise what the car does based upon its looks. I've been asked if the car runs on hydrogen, cold fusion and solar energy. I've had to say sorry folks, this is a gasoline powered vehicle.

"Luckily the film is a classic so this idea doesn't require much in the way of a refresh. I have been slowly improving the quality of my replica by obtaining "screen accurate" parts one piece at a time.
 
"It's far from a perfect replica, however, so I'll be keeping myself busy for a long time to come.
 
"It's all a bit of fun and some of the money is donated to Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's Research Foundation."