About the project

The Future DeLorean- Winning competition entry judged by Katherine DeLorean In August 2022 ‘Car Design TV’ teamed up with Katherine DeLorean to get designers to create their vision of what they thought the future DeLorean should look like. Katherine chose her favourites as to what she thought was best aligned to her father’s iconic work. I submitted two ideas for this competition entry. The DeLorean, originally being a rear-engine two-passenger sports car, I predicted what kind of future innovation and technology could be suitable if we went ‘back to the future’. Both I made sure though, that the aesthetics held the DeLorean identity, through styling cues. First proposal: • The future hydrogen electric, two-seater flying car with fluidity in the form to complement. • A speed tail glass shape is cocooned by the exterior for a safer trip to the future. • Key timeless features inherited from the past- lighting strip all round, gull wing doors, rear feature (modernised digital) which was previously a vent. Second proposal: • The future autonomous flying car. • The vehicle had to have Automotive Emotion (a front and rear) for Direction of Travel. • A hint of sports car- Inspired by the emotion of speed. • An electric commuter. • Its aerodynamic simple shape makes it more aerodynamic for a smoother, more comfortable trip back to the future. • Variable spaces for the interior so you can lounge back, work or relax. • Key timeless features inherited from the past- lighting strip all round, gull wing doors. After growing up enjoying watching Back to the Future, I was very enthusiastic to enter this competition and start thinking about what the future time machine could look like. After spending a few days sketching for fun, I was delighted to hear the news from Car Design TV. Car Design TV announced that: “We’re proud to present Kelly Holder as the winner of our DeLorean Design Challenge! Congratulations Kelly! With a stunning 67% of all submitted votes her designs mostly captured what people think a new DeLorean should look like. Of Kelly’s 2 proposals the Hydrogen Electric proposal above was preferred by 60% of her voters, but both stood out above other entries. Second came in Tony Hunter with 18% of the votes, followed by Hirash Razaghi with 12% and David Malcolm Beasley with 3%. Congratulations to all and thank you to all whom submitted their work. It shows the passion for the DeLorean brand is alive and well, and deserves a proper new design rather than a simple re-hash of things shown previously under different names. DeLorean is worth more than that! We are very honored that Kathryn DeLorean (Kat), daughter of John Z. DeLorean, was enthusiastic about this competition and was very willing to share her insights about each proposal in much detail.” Here are Kat’s thoughts: As each person took the time to thoughtfully create an entry, I shall try and at least provide some feedback to each and an understanding of why my favourites were chosen. Kelly Holder I chose Kelly’s hydrogen car design as the winner for one simple reason, she incorporated two things in her design that reflect what was important to my father, innovative fuel technology and safety. I find the design of the car extreme in a familiar way, which reminds me a lot of the original. Upon first look the car is so incredibly futuristic, but upon closer look I can find the aspects within the design that tug at my nostalgia and familiarity. This is fantastic marketing, also something my father was keen on. For the autonomous car, the attention to adding the emotion of driving once you remove the control would absolutely be a key factor my father would have considered in his autonomous design. I will drive a manual transmission over an automatic any opportunity I have simply for the sheer experience of shifting the car. When someone loves to drive, the act of driving creates an emotional experience if the car is well designed, thus, this aspect also led to my choice in winner. I was thoroughly delighted. There was some tough competition and amazing work all round submitted. Thank you to Katherine for taking your time to share your comments. Thank you also to Car Design TV for making this possible. It’s amazing what happens when you’re simply having fun and passionate about something in this industry, how this line of work, with the right mindset can quickly be a design victory.