DeLorean, the sports car marque immortalised by the gullwing-doored, stainless-steel DMC-12, is backing an electric vertical take-off and landing racing programme that could see a DeLorean-branded aircraft compete before Tesla delivers its next vehicle. The company has committed enough funding to campaign an eVTOL in Airspeeder, a racing series built around piloted electric flying cars.
The move places DeLorean in an unexpected position: a heritage brand with a turbulent commercial history, now competing in one of the newest and most technically demanding corners of motorsport. Airspeeder is designed to showcase electric vertical take-off and landing technology through close, low-altitude racing, a format that depends on lightweight airframes, high-output battery packs and advanced flight-control software.
For DeLorean, the project is as much a branding exercise as an engineering one. The company has no current volume-production sports car on the road, yet it retains a cultural footprint large enough to justify a presence in a futuristic racing category. Associating the name with electric flight allows it to trade on its reputation for unconventional design without needing to build a conventional car first.
The comparison with Tesla is inevitable. Tesla has repeatedly promised a next-generation Roadster, and the vehicle has slipped through multiple timelines. If DeLorean’s Airspeeder entry reaches the grid first, a brand best known for a 1980s film franchise will have put a flying machine into competition before Tesla has put its long-awaited sports car into customer hands.
That outcome would be largely symbolic. Airspeeder racers are not road vehicles, and the series remains a niche proving ground rather than a mass market. But symbolism matters in the electric vehicle sector, where technical leadership is used to justify valuations, attract investment and shape public perception. A DeLorean flying racer would give the brand a visible claim to innovation at a time when its automotive plans remain unclear.
The engineering challenge is substantial. Electric flight demands high power density, thermal management and redundancy that road cars do not. Racing amplifies those pressures, because vehicles must operate near their limits for sustained periods while remaining safe enough for pilots. Airspeeder has positioned itself as a testbed for exactly those problems, with the expectation that solutions developed on the track could inform broader electric aviation.
DeLorean’s involvement also raises questions about how far a revived brand can stretch. The company has previously signalled interest in returning to car production, but has yet to establish itself as a manufacturer at scale. Funding a racing programme is a smaller commitment than building a factory, and it keeps the name in public view while the harder work of product development continues elsewhere.
For British readers, the story sits at the intersection of two preoccupations: the slow, expensive transition to electric transport and the enduring appeal of a car brand that never quite delivered on its original promise. DeLorean’s Airspeeder effort is unlikely to change the economics of either. It may, however, change the order in which two famous names reach the future they have both been promising.