John DeLorean had many great ideas for keeping his (soon to become troubled) company even before the first gullwinged DMC-12 sports car left the factory in 1981. One was a bus, the other a utility vehicle, but the most exciting of them all of course was the DMC-24 sedan, which resulted in a rolling prototype created by Italdesign.
The 'DMC-80' bus was supposed to be an American-built product with a DMC badge up front, available with three options of 6-cylinder powerplants and two options for transmissions. DeLorean went as far as printing a brochure for his vision of public transportation. The 'DMC-44' utility vehicle was also planned to have nothing to do with Northern Ireland, and the DeLorean Motor Company even shot a promotional video in order to convince potencial investors just like Lamborghini had with the utterly doomed Cheetah.
Still, there's no question that what John DeLorean wanted to make the most was a futuristic four-door sedan. Two drawings remain from his sketchbook. Both were made by him in November of 1979. The first is a very unconventional concept with two flat-foor engines, on in the front and one at the rear, while the interior features reversed seats in the back.
The second was a far more traditional car with the luggage and fuel tank placed up front, and the engine either mid transaxle or in the rear of the car. DeLorean was planning to use a turbocharged unit they were already developing for better performance.
On the 3rd of November, 1981, eleven people were invited to the Conway Hotal in Dunmurry for a Product Planning Meeting starting at 2:00 pm. The attendees had to decide on what sort of car Giorgetto Giugiaro should come up with at Italdesign. They were planning on introducing the DMC-24 sedan to the model line in early 1983.
According to the photos uploaded by Alistair McCann (who happens to be the lucky owner of these papers), DeLorean wanted to upgrade Giugiaro's 1980 Lancia Medusa Concept (which was the most aerodynamic car at the time) with the DMC's styling cues and more advanced technology than what the Monte Carlo-based (Scorpio in America) Italian could offer. They also had to figure out which door or headlamp setup would be the best compromise in terms of being both stylish and cost-efficient.
Rumor has it that Italdesign managed to finish the first kamm tailed DMC-24 prototype before it all went down the drain for John DeLorean and his Irish adventure. Next time you meet Giorgetto Giugiaro, ask him where he put it.
Photo credit: Alistair McCann, Italdesign and Entermyworld. Hat tip to JaysDMC!