DeLorean Legacy Project #2 – Angel Guerra

• Where did your passion for cars come from? Tell us about what it takes to become a car designer. Is it art or science, or both? Talk us through that journey. 
• We hear that you are a big John DeLorean fan.  How did he inspire you?
• The Model-JZD Design, revisiting Giugiaro’s original creation – and the evolution
  • Will the body be made of Stainless like the original? Carbon-fiber painted to look like stainless? Or some other new/feature tech? 
  • Mid-engine instead of Rear-engine?
  • Interior design … where is the “extra space” behind the driver? Would you lose that because of the mid-engine design?
  • It’s been a couple of years since your initial ideas, is there anything you see changing about the design?
  • Do you have to make special accommodations for different power plants? What is the thought process: EV or Petrol, Hybrid or optional?
  • How big will the vehicle be (compared to the original); Purposed weight?
• Outside of the design of the Model-JZD, how are you going to be involved in the build process for the new car? Are you going to be in Detroit for the unveiling?

and much, much more!

Crew Chief Brad: [00:00:00] BreakFix podcast is all about capturing the living history of people from all over the autosphere, from wrench turners and racers to artists, authors, designers, and everything in between. Our goal is to inspire a new generation of petrolheads that wonder. How did they get that job or become that person?

The road to success is paved by all of us because everyone has a story.

Crew Chief Eric: And by the renowned car, motorcycle camera, and firearm designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro, the DeLorean DMC 12 is an American sports car that debuted in 1981. And despite a brief production run, it became a bonafide automotive icon when it was thrust into the cultural mainstream.

Upon the DeLorean’s 40th anniversary, Spain’s Angel Guerra was determined to bring the steel bodied, gull wing doored DMC 12 squarely into the 21st century with a next generation concept. And with that, my [00:01:00] co host for this episode is the one and only Kat DeLorean, along with Angel, dialing in from his home in Seville, Spain, to tell us all about this revolutionary new car.

So welcome to both of you to Break Fix.

Kat DeLorean: Thank you for having me back.

Crew Chief Eric: Hi, everyone. All right, Angel. Like every good break fix story, there’s always an origin. So tell us about your journey as a petrol head and how you became a automotive designer. Where did your passion for your cars come from? How did you become a designer?

Angel Guerra: I can tell you a story that my mother used to tell to some friends and to everyone. So in my neighborhood, it’s. I didn’t know how to speak yet. I was famous because of my mother. When she took me for a walk, I was pointing at any car, you know, that I saw on the street and I used to say the brand and the model, why I don’t know, but I used to say, you know, it was a Mercedes.

It was a BMW, but not, not only the brand, also the model, you know? So to be honest, to be a car designer is something that. [00:02:00] You need a really big, big background of knowledge, and this knowledge, you start to get it when you are a baby, when you are a kid, and when you are playing with cars, watching cars on the TV, on the street, I will say 90 percent of the background that you need to be as a car designer.

Then I was a bit lost, you know, because you grow up, you just have to do a different since you became a teenager. So you don’t know what’s going on. And I will say that they took not the right direction. Because I studied as an engineer, but actually what I do to design the car, not the proper word of an engineer.

So when I was working as an engineer and I finished my career, I say, okay, this is not what I want to do. And I decided to break away of this. Where can I go to be a car designer? In that time in Spain, I didn’t have any reference about people or places where to go. To learn this, looking in internet, I found a school in Barcelona in the north of Spain, [00:03:00] a really expensive one.

I wasn’t sure about what to do to look for my dream, you know, a bit crazy, and I did it. I went to a bank, I asked for a credit, and I went to study to Barcelona. I quit my job as an engineer. After two years, I was already working in a design studio. Then I remembered to say, okay, should I stop here in Spain or maybe to move into another places because at the end I’m living out of my place.

Um, and it went through many places around Europe. I went first to Paris in France, and then I realized that. You know, the big brands are in Germany. I found some projects always as a freelancer in Porsche, in Mercedes. Then in Munich, you have BMW and many brands from Europe and from China working. They have a place in Germany and a studio where they develop their cars.

It was there where I really get the proper knowledge to say, okay, now I’m a car designer. You know, I think that to begin a car designer, you know, each of us are a car designer. We can say [00:04:00] we’re like this, I will change that. Oh, I don’t like how this from bumper ends or wherever this proportion and the like, this is because we have a background as a petrol head, you know, but not only as a petrol head, we love vehicles in any way, motorcycles.

Tracks banks, you know, anything, anything. So if you don’t like this, since you’re a kid, it’s impossible to be a company center. So I don’t really know when this hobby has started to be something that is a profession in my life. The difference when I sit to work, for example, the DeLorean project, I did it in my free time.

And when I have to work. For Bugatti or for Rimac, I don’t feel the difference. The difference is that I prepare an invoice by the end of the month and they pay me back. But I’m having the same fun, to be honest. I don’t know what is the split line between how to be a car designer or how to become a car, maybe the experience or the knowledge to develop a car.

But when you are eight years old and you are painting a car, even a [00:05:00] horrible car on a paper, you are a car designer. You are, I can tell you many histories about the people that I found in my career, in the early years, in the high school, even in the university, they saw me skating, for example, in a class where I should be attending to another subject.

And the teacher told me, ah, so you like to get cars. And I say, yeah, I mean, they, they asked me, would you like to be a car designer? I say, it’s quite difficult. It’s quite hard, but I would like to have the possibility at least to try. And they told me that. I wasn’t good enough or Spain is not a place to be a car designer.

You know, instead of motivated, they told me, no, it’s impossible for you to do that. You know, I maybe it was 15 years old and I was already a car design, not a professional one, but a teenager with the hope to be one day a car designer, you know, a professional one. Even if I don’t reach this dream, I’m a car designer, you are a car designer, that is a car designer, everyone could be a car designer.

There is [00:06:00] a day that someone pay you for a job and you say, okay, now I’m a car designer, but no, you are a car designer much earlier, I would say.

Kat DeLorean: You’re describing the difference between a professional and somebody who is the thing you’re saying. Just because you’re not a professional yet and getting paid doesn’t mean you’re not a car designer.

I hadn’t heard that whole story before. I can’t stop smiling because that is the story behind everything we’re doing. I’ve always told people it’s never too late to change your mind. As long as you’re following your passion, you’ll be successful. And that if you follow your passion, then you will never work another day in your life.

I’ve had that experience in my career where I woke up every day and couldn’t decide if I was Getting paid to play or work because work was so much fun. So I cannot be more excited in this moment right now, because that is just the most perfect story for D& G.

Crew Chief Eric: And you hit on something really, really important.

It’s a sentiment that I’ve [00:07:00] also heard expressed by other leaders in the space. And if you go back and even look at John DeLorean’s stories or Lee Iacocca’s or others, they say, you know, I started as a designer or an engineer at such and such company, but I didn’t want to be the guy designing the ashtray for the right rear door of the new Cadillac.

And you said that yourself, you’re like, this wasn’t for me. And then suddenly you went from engineer. to artists. So I’m wondering when you went back to school, did your engineering studies help you in becoming a car designer? Or did you have to check all that at the door and basically start over again as an artist, especially as a graphic artist in today’s world?

Angel Guerra: Not really. As an engineer, I learned 99 percent of my skills, um, working, I would say, or by myself, not in the school, not in, in the university. No. Maybe right now you have more opportunities because there are many tutorials on the internet, many videos, and now you can learn a bit more by yourself, but not like 20 years ago.

It was impossible. [00:08:00] So the only possibility to learn something about how to become a car designer, because at the end it’s a mix of, as you say, art and technique, is really hard. Because if you have to sketch, you have to be able to transfer this sketch into a 3D. You must be able to massage and to go step by step and do a lot of iterations about this 3D until you have an early volume and idea of the car and you finish that into a production model that could be, you know, it depends on the technology, this part could be 3D printing, molding, milling, whatever, you know.

When or where do you get this knowledge? I will say you get it working. It’s strange, you know, because of, for example, if you want to boil houses, you know what you have to study. If you want to learn how to cook the same, but if you want to learn how to make cars. There are not many places to learn this, but it’s not only in Spain or Europe, it’s the same in USA, [00:09:00] you have two or three good places, that’s all.

In Europe, the same, two or three. Maybe in Asia, you have a couple of them. But, after years I met the same people around the world, you know, I found out a colleague that I was working with him 15 years ago in Germany. And now I know that, for example, he’s working with me. There is not many people doing that.

We are almost the same guys. You know, it’s funny because it’s hard to know where to study. And for example, now I get a lot of messages from students. Oh, I would like to do what you are doing. What should I do? I did this question to myself, but 20 years ago, I suppose that they already know where to go. If you Google it, you should have an answer, you know, and the problem is that the answer that you get back in Google is a school, but maybe it goes 30, 000 years per year.

So It’s impossible for almost everyone to go to study into these places. You can do it by yourself, but at the end you need a [00:10:00] master’s degree in transportation design to open the doors of any studio, you know? I did it 20 years ago because it was a bit cheaper. I will tell you something funny. 20 years ago, I went to ask for a credit into a bank.

I want a credit to study. And the director of the bank told me, this is a lot of money to study. And say, Yeah, but this is they told me, Will you get a job after this master? And I say, I have no idea. I just want to go there to study this and to get this education. And he told me, you shouldn’t do that. This is the money that people takes to buy a car, for example.

This is the level of people when you say, I want to go to start, I mean, a person who has a high education, you know, I want to study this and they say you shouldn’t do that. It’s expensive. And maybe you don’t get a job after that. This is the problem that there are many people with talent. that they’re looking where to go and study this and they don’t have any idea.

So when Kat told me that she wants to create a program for [00:11:00] students to show them a way where they can learn about automotive, let’s say design, engineering, ergonomics, aerodynamics, tooling, production, whatever. I know that many students will say, Hey, we want to do this. So this is one of the best idea that I, you know, and she’s got the Lodian, everybody knows about her.

So I’m sure that she will get a lot of students knocking the door and say, Hey, we want to be in this course for sure. So when you say, Oh, they’re a designer, you know, everybody sees about German, Italy, and actually. They are right. I mean, the best schools are in that places. Many people from Europe, from Asia, from India, they used to travel to Germany or Italy to study there.

And it’s really expensive. So I would like to share my knowledge, not in a, in a, in a school. where they charge a lot of money to a student. You know, I want to share my, my, my knowledge with Kat. We can [00:12:00] prepare some class. For example, I can teach some designs or give some thoughts about my experience, but also about, okay, let’s just speak about how we design a car, you know.

And for free. And if we achieve this, I think that it will be something unique in the way that there are no people offering this, and it will be quite successful.

Crew Chief Eric: So let’s expand upon that thought for a moment. So you mentioned in the early days you were freelancing and you name dropped Rimac as well as Bugatti.

So I’m wondering about your relationship with Italdesign How does that work? Did you work for, as we like to call him, Il Maestro himself, or how did you take your inspiration to design the car that we’re going to be talking about here in a little bit?

Angel Guerra: Giugiaro is the top designer. Giugiaro and Gandini.

Ital design was famous in the eighties, in the nineties. I think Giugiaro left Ital design long time ago. So there is a proper Ital design, but Giugiaro is not working there. So for me, it’s not the same Ital design [00:13:00] than before. I have a lot of books of car design. I know the history of Giorgetto Giugiaro and Gandini because for me, it’s my reference.

So talking about Giugiaro, that was the designer of the DeLorean, what he did, he was to create something, in my opinion, really clean, really nice, in a really clever way. And one of the design that I like the most, I say, okay, I would like to take a look and to the original model and to redesign the original model.

Where to get inspiration? So the inspiration is the model itself. I don’t need to get more inspiration. So my job as a car designer with my skills, with my tools, with my knowledge is to transfer this design into 2021. That was when it was done. What I took from him, the regional model, but I also took some reference from John DeLorean, you know, because at the end the car was theater was done by Gito Giro, but the package and everything was done by John DeLorean in this [00:14:00] mix became something unique.

That it was the, the design of the D DMC 12. I say, okay, should have something from geo geo design, but also from John DeLorean. When I look at John DeLorean, I see a clever guy. It’s a very elegant, you know, and sophisticated. And also I was thinking, Okay, if you’re in the Laurian had the opportunity to make another DeLorean taking care about the previous design, I think that he won’t just copy the design into nowadays proportions.

You should do the same but different. You should do something that should look like at the previous DeLorean, but with a modern treatment, and it should look futuristic. Nowadays, you know, as the DeLorean look. futuristic in the 80s. I tried to respect the original design from Giorgetto Giugiaro, but also take something from John DeLorean and to bring them into this 2020.

So just thinking about if they have a meeting today, [00:15:00] both, what they will do. I didn’t think about, okay, if I would make the DeLorean, you know, thinking about myself, I will do it like this or I will insert this element I think most of the designers, they have a lot of ego, and this is the worst. You have to take a look into the model, think about it, think about the age that was done, the people who was involved, and to try to transfer all this.

in 40 years forward in time and what you have to give is to give the modern treatment and to find something that will make the car unique nowadays. At the same time that you have to respect the originals and keep it simple, clean, clever. Elegant and it’s difficult, you know, but this is my job. My inspiration was Gito Giro, but also John DeLorean because I think that the car is so good because of them, because I, I, I knew that John gave to Gito a package, and [00:16:00] he had to redesign the idea that he had to, the packets that John wanted.

They, they were working quite close, and the result was. I

Kat DeLorean: think that your background in engineering is particularly helpful, especially in this project. I actually think it’s an asset because a lot of times when I have conversations with Angel about the car and how I want to change things and modify things, it comes down to not just how it’s going to look, but how it’s going to function from an engineering perspective, that background allows you Angel to be a little bit of both, that is truly a unique scenario that can create.

This spirit of the DeLorean in a way that literally everybody in the entire world agrees is unique and incredible. It really does capture the spirit of the car in a way that je So I cannot put it into words why this car just does what it does, but you’ve nailed it. It tugs on that familiarity while being new and [00:17:00] exciting.

And it has elements that allow you to just feel. For me, I can see his whole automotive history. I can actually see elements of the GTO and the Corvette, all sorts of things, just these little touches where I can feel his evolution over time in this car, which may be because the DeLorean was the culmination of all of its years, but it really does capture it so well.

Crew Chief Eric: Thank you. To your point, the design that we’re talking about now has been around for a couple of years. You designed it, like you said, on the side back in 2021, the middle of COVID, while we’re all kind of stuck at home, wondering what to do next and talk about a passion project at the end result of this folks that I’ve shown this to the same gut reaction is in concert with what Kat just said.

The first word out of their mouths are. Now this is a DeLorean, right? That’s usually the visceral reaction to when they see the design that you came up with. Mine was slightly tweaked on that where I went, that looks like something that Jujaro designed, [00:18:00] not knowing that you had designed it, because it spoke to the original design, knowing that the DMC 12 was designed by Jujaro.

So it makes me wonder if we kind of Peel this back just a little bit. We’re all children of a certain age in a certain era. So what did you think when you first saw the DMC 12 as a kid? You spoke about, I could name the car and the model and this and that. So when you saw DMC 12, what did that make you think?

And was there something that also propelled you to become a designer?

Angel Guerra: Spain at the end of the 80s. As a kid, you play on the street, you don’t have any kind of digital entertainment. I remember to listen something about Back to the Future, but I didn’t have any idea what was it because when they released in that time a movie, they released it in Spain, maybe three years later.

Oh, there is a movie Back to the Future, but I didn’t have the opportunity to go to the cinema. So you have to wait and to rent it into the video club, but you know, you have one chance per week to rent a movie because of, you know, your [00:19:00] parents, they give you only a bit and you say, okay, I have to, you just, you stay in this video club for one hour choosing one movie and you between 20, I never had the opportunity to watch what to the future.

So I have to wait to watch it on the TV. I say, okay, I will watch it on the TV. And I remember one month. It was on a spot on TV. Okay. In one month we will put back to the theater in TV, you know, and it was the first movie in Spain available in stereo on the TV. So I remember that day at home, my father plucked the Hi Fi stereo into the television and we start to watch.

back to the future. I didn’t have any idea that I will see that kind of car. So when I saw, you know, in the impact of the future, when the track opens the door and you see the back of the DeLorean rolling down the track in that moment, I felt something special. I don’t know what to say, but you know, you have this kind of feelings in your life, [00:20:00] you know, when you met someone, when you are in love, when you live a really special moment.

So for me, it was an special moment because I knew that I was seeing something unique and it it’s not related to the time machine? No, no, no. The, the, it, it wasn’t about the time machine or the elements and components around the car. I was fascinated about the car and say, what is this? I had to go look for Atlo, Delorian and I, I try, do you know the DeLorean brand?

You know, it was already, I think. 1989, so nobody could tell me what is Laurean? What is the valorian? I know Ferrari. Mercedes, what happened with DeLorean brand? Until I didn’t get proper access to internet, I couldn’t look for the answers. But I will say that that feeling, the, the feeling that I felt.

Watching that car, somehow it was the starting point to say, wow, one day I want to do something like this. [00:21:00] And maybe it sounds a bit strange, but there are two moments in my life. Really important because of it was in the early age where you know, that cars are really important in your life. One moment, this one, another moment, it sounds funny, but when I bought my PlayStation.

And I started to play my first video game about cars, Gran Turismo. It was the first time that you spent hours and hours and hours playing with cars in 3D. My mind was working in a different speed when I, like, overclocking your mind, you know? My brain started to think about cars and cars and cars and I started to sketch, sketch, sketch.

Somehow I started to say, I like this. I like to spend my free time sketching cars, thinking about cars. I didn’t stop since that moment, but this is, let’s say, how I keep thinking about cars, but I remember the feeling, you know, I will never forget the feeling when I saw the first time the DeLorean. At the end of Back to the Future, [00:22:00] it’s a, to be continued.

The next day I went to the video club and said that I need money. I need to rent the second part because I need to see the DeLorean flying back to the theater. So nowadays we say in the future we will have this, but in the eighties, I think that they develop products that say you don’t have to wait for the future.

The future is here right now. You know the Deloria is here and I’m 40 years old, but I can’t imagine if you are 20 years old in the eighties and you see a deloria, you will say, what is this? Nowadays? Maybe you are in a meeting with hypercar. You have a Bugatti sheet on Ferrari, LA Ferrari, McLaren, P one, Che 90 team, and suddenly arrive at theorem.

And everybody look at the DeLorean. And it’s not because of the Back to the Future or any kind of movie. It’s because of what’s so unique design. You have to choose three cars in, like, the best cars anytime. One of these three will be the [00:23:00] DeLorean, for sure.

Kat DeLorean: Your story, it fits so well. It’s hard to believe that you found me and that your narrative fits.

My goal is so well, it’s overwhelming how I call, I call this car, the, the supercar built by love.

Angel Guerra: But

Kat DeLorean: that’s what it is.

Angel Guerra: God, you know, the way that I found you.

Kat DeLorean: Yeah.

Angel Guerra: One day, and I knew that you are Kat DeLorean. But I watched it, to be honest, this movie framing DeLorean. And I saw one interview. And I know that you and your brother, you are not really happy with the Lord and history and everything, you know, I never wanted to look for you to write you something or whatever.

And one day in Instagram, I saw a picture of you and your father and I say, okay, I did this start thinking about your dad and trying to make a tribute to his legacy. I think, you know, if you are proud of your father, I have to tell you this. It was the way that I [00:24:00] approach to you, like a God and angel. And I did this project because of.

We are in love with the work that your father did, and it was something that suddenly happened. I didn’t look for that, you know, I saw you in Instagram, your picture with your father, and I say, Okay, I will do this.

Kat DeLorean: It’s amazing, too, because The way the timing of all of this has played out, so the other half of that story is my side, where I showed up to try and connect with the fans again, and connecting with them, hearing stories like yours over the years, the car now represents dreams, and now my dad’s dream.

Everybody’s dream and it’s so special to me and it’s such a unique perspective that I believe I have because of who I am and everybody tells me their story when you showed up into my life, I was trying to find a web page. to have a space where we could all gather and collect these stories. I literally was yelling at somebody saying, do you think I can [00:25:00] register just this one domain name?

Because I really want this one. And then you messaged me saying, by the way, I just registered this domain that you’re currently upset about not being able to get, would you like to have a website where people can submit stories about how much your father means to you? Just like everything else in this whole journey of building this car, I set out to do something and suddenly somebody says, hi!

Here’s a completed thing that you need. You know, we talked in the beginning about how to pronounce your name, and I am working on pronouncing it correctly. I’m not there yet. So I’m not going to say it. But to me, I have to call you Angel. And I’m sorry if that’s an insult, because to me, that’s where you came from.

That’s the only explanation is that my dad tapped you on the shoulder and said, Hey, go find my daughter. Otherwise, I’m crazy and imagining the whole thing and we’re all being filmed and I’m on the Truman show or something,

Crew Chief Eric: right? But I think that’s a great segue back into something that Angel said earlier about your dad being a clever guy.

And so I wanted [00:26:00] to kind of transition us into the new car by talking about the old car 1 more time. Angel, your gut reaction to the DMC 12 is in line with a lot of other people’s. It was one of these, wow moments. I always followed the evolution of Giugiaro’s designs. Parents coming from Italy, everybody kind of knew what Il Maestro was up to.

And when you look at the DeLorean, the joke used to be, well, there’s the Scirocco and then there’s the Audi coupe and then there’s the DeLorean and it’s like all medium and large. And so those designs all went together, but you look at the DeLorean and you go. Hyundai Pony 74 Concept Coupe and the Scirocco, which were both penned by Jujar.

You put the two together, you get the DeLorean. But the trick, the clever part, to hone back in on that is the packaging. And when you look at a DeLorean, most people that don’t know go, it’s mid engine. Oh, a mid engine sports car. No, it’s laid out like a 9 11 and to fit the motor and everything in there in that way in that design, it’s almost an optical illusion.

And that’s what [00:27:00] brings us to the new car is that when you look at it, you’re never really sure where your eyes stops. It’s constantly moving around the design of the car. And so that leads us into, I guess, questions about your design and how they may play out into the future. One of the top questions I got when we polled our audience was, is the new car going to be made out of stainless steel?

Kat DeLorean: I have to answer that question. So, I mean, Angel can try, but, but I actually know the answer. There’s one of my five core values is what would John do? We have to do everything that we do, engineering, design, all of it has to be done with my father in mind and doing it the way he would get it done. While that is key and super important to what’s happening right now, I also have to honor the fans.

I have to honor and respect the people who have kept this car alive for all of these years. We have to honor the fans because without them, the movie aside, somebody cared for these cars. [00:28:00] Somebody kept the culture alive and somebody gave me back this car enough to show up and have been to fight. So I have to honor what they want.

What we are currently doing is we’re looking into how we can make stainless steel, not just feasible, but also something that is a little bit more moderate, an updated way to add stainless steel to the car to actually address some of the issues that come along with it. Can we make it lighter? Can we make it easier to form?

Can we find different ways to actually address some of the challenges in the stainless steel? What I tell people when they ask me if the car is going to be made of stainless steel, I tell them that’s our goal. But part of what we’re doing right now is telling the story of the challenges my father faced, different decisions about what engine he wanted, everything that he had in his mind, he had to examine which are the things that I have the funds to create custom tooling for, and which are the things that I have to go with what somebody already [00:29:00] has.

If the car doesn’t get made in stainless this round, we plan on finding a way to make it stainless and we will continue to work to bring to the fans what they want, but we’ll also tell you why it couldn’t be, what the challenges are. Can we work together to come up with a way to actually make this a feasible option for you?

Because I don’t want this to be secret. I want this to be something that not just allows us to build a car and change the world and bring education. But it gives me a chance to tell my dad’s story, the one that the fans asked for, and that a documentarian told me nobody’s going to listen to because it’s not sensational enough.

So here we are, you’re going to watch, and you’re going to learn, and we’re going to find out.

Angel Guerra: No, I mean, I totally agree with that. There are many ways to make this possible. If this is more a production issue than design issue, you know, the good thing is nowadays there is a really [00:30:00] huge evolution about how to produce all this and to make it lighter, maybe you can create that kind of composite material.

It could be a stainless steel. Mix it with carbon. No, no mixes, but you can create a layer of carbon fiber and then to put on the top a really, really thin layer of stainless steel. It will depends of the guys that will be in charge of this technology and I’m sure they will find a way to reproduce or to have the same appearance that the original car, but improving the result for sure.

This is not a question that I can answer in the way that this is another field of the automotive engineering, but I’m sure that we will get something quite unique, I will say.

Crew Chief Eric: And I know that could be a major sticking point, but it goes right back to the point about being clever. And so in talking with some fellow automotive historians and enthusiasts alike, one of the things that was brought up about the original construction of the DMC 12, because I don’t think Giorgetto wanted to build it in stainless steel.

It probably wasn’t his plan. It was John’s plan to [00:31:00] do that. But you have to kind of look at sequence of events here. Your father was friends with Malcolm Bricklin. Bricklin was experimenting with fiberglass and other composite plastic materials to build his vehicle. And we saw how that turned out. I’m speculating.

Your dad probably said, we’re not going that way, but I want to do something different. And stainless was the option because aluminum was too expensive to handle and deal with. So now if we think about that, it’s kind of this cutting edge out of box, quote unquote, clever thinking the DeLorean next generation vehicle.

Needs to be some sort of cutting edge space age technology that is yet to be produced on a vehicle. So something beyond carbon fiber. And to your point, Angel, that combination giving us that retro feel of a layer of stainless, but something else much more modern underneath. Being able to bridge that gap from the old to the new.

And so I think that would be my major rebuttal to everybody that’s, you know, banging their fists on the table saying it must be made of stainless steel is to kind of think about it from the perspective of the time to say they were very [00:32:00] forward thinking. So what’s our forward thinking approach with the new car?

Kat DeLorean: That’s a great point because that’s exactly what I said to the team when we were talking about, there are a lot of challenges. In forming stainless steel, not the least of which are, most people can’t do it. There’s a lot of challenges, and one of my father’s key factors was creating a car that was inexpensive to purchase and inexpensive to own.

And so what I said to my team was, I said, A lot of things have changed since back then. What was the positive intent? that my father had by creating it out of stainless. Part of it was style, but a lot of it was a couple of things. And I don’t know that I’ve seen these things discussed a whole lot. I know it may be out there, but these are definitely things my father talked to me about.

One of the ideas of the body panels was not just that it’s easy to buff out and you don’t have to paint after an accident, but it kept the cost down of replacing panels because. He could remanufacture them for you at a low cost because the doors could [00:33:00] come back and be melted back down. And then that allowed him to provide the parts for you at a low cost for low cost of maintenance over the lifetime of the car.

So when we look at carbon fiber, what I said to my carbon fiber guy was. Unless you can tell me how to keep it out of a landfill. It’s not going on my car. And so he actually has a carbon fiber recycling process that he’s working on. And we’re going to work to try and help him get a patent on it and improve it a little bit.

But that was my first thing I said, the positive intent is that It has to perform what my father wanted not just be lighter, not just be what everybody else wants. He was a unique thinker. So that’s how we’re coming to try and address it. And we have some amazing people coming up with really interesting solutions, such as the one that Angel has described.

We don’t know if it’s possible, but we sure are going to keep trying until we find a way. So the only way it’s not going to be In some form have some stainless option for it is because [00:34:00] we could not make it cost viable, but we will find a pathway to that and share that with the public and say, we couldn’t do it because this, but here’s what we could do to get there.

To try and allow even the public some control in whether or not the car gets made.

Crew Chief Eric: It’s also in the best interest of the consumer too, because if you think about it in terms of the eighties, when the car companies were struggling, it was also a cost cutting measure. I mean, your dad was probably going, if I don’t have to paint it, that’s thousands of dollars.

I’m saving per car, not having to figure out what colors we’re going to use and how to apply them and then clear coat and all this, the stainless is ready to go. I mean, when was the last time? You either wax buffed or painted your kitchen sink. Never. Right. It’s always looks the same from the day you put it into the day you got rid of it.

So the stainless is a really great option for that. It’s easy to clean, easy to maintain, and it doesn’t rust.

Kat DeLorean: It’s funny you say that because one of my guys wanted to put a ceramic clear coat on the stainless and I said, I’m not getting a stainless car. That’s going to force me to buy more [00:35:00] wax. Thank you.

No, a hundred percent. Yeah.

Crew Chief Eric: Yeah, no. That leads to the next big design question. Probably at the top of many of the more technical petrolheads minds, is the new car going to be mid engine or rear engine like the original?

Kat DeLorean: Before he answers that I’ve been telling people that my team is supposed to hold me to the standard, what would John do?

And in this particular case, I made a stupid remark to my team and they all went. Absolutely not. You cannot, because we were talking about the front end of the car and I went, what if we did make it front end? The words came out of my mouth and then I went, oh gosh, but they immediately all pounced and said, no, your father would not do that.

So I’ll let Angel answer what the car’s going to be after my faux pas.

Angel Guerra: What I did is to prepare a package. Whatever the option that you will take could fit. So I think that a mid engine will fit a bit better with the idea of to exchange the powertrain in the way that, for example, if you go for electric, you just need [00:36:00] to put the battery pack in the room that you dedicated to the engine.

You know, the battery pack is really heavy. So it should be closer to the center. You know, if you put the battery back, what is the engine? The engine is behind the rear axle. Not really good weight relation. To design the car, leaving a space for both options. It could be an electric car. In that way, you don’t need the space for the motors because you located the motors.

In the door axle and they are quite a small, this is not an issue. They issue with electric is where to locate the battery. If I located behind the driver, this is the best place because at the end is the natural way where it would be the engine, whatever would be the option. It will work. Her thing is working on that.

Um, what I have to say from my side is. that whatever will be the option, I will be ready to adapt the design to any option. But I’m thinking that the best way for me is to do something that could work with any powertrain. From the same point of [00:37:00] view, it’s not quite complex to say, we’re going to locate the engine or the battery pack.

It’s more important for me to know where will be the occupants, the driver, to see where is the H point, the vision angles and everything. This is what I really care about to design a car because I have to do something or the starting point of a car is to set the A pillar. This is quite important. Where is the A pillar of the car, the door opening, and then you know, that should be an engine in the front and the rear, you know, and I know that it could affect the proportion of the car.

But in our case, battery pack and engine will be in the same position. So it’s not a big issue. It’s not going to affect anything. If you go for electric, if you go for hybrid, if we go for internal combustion.

Crew Chief Eric: Is it going to be a two seat sports coupe or will it be a four seater?

Angel Guerra: Two seats. I’ve been working in cars, two plus two, four seats with a coupe roofline.

And at the end, the person in 9 11, there is this place for kids on the rear, but [00:38:00] who put their kids into a 9 11, you know?

Kat DeLorean: My best friend’s mother when I was a child did, and I never forgave her for it. So yes.

Angel Guerra: Yeah. I mean, I would like to have a 9 11 and to put my kids there, you know, but some people, to put this in this two plus two, this space to put some luggage in our case, I am planning to have a proper place for luggage.

I rather prefer to have two seats. And after that, to use that space for battery pack for the engine, whatever. And to put the luggage into a proper place, you know,

Crew Chief Eric: and that’s good because if we go back to the original car and the original intent, it was sold and marketed as a sports car, a sports coupe.

So I know that a lot of the purists have pushed back and said, well, we really love the little compartment behind the driver and passenger seats and yada, yada, and all this. I get that that’s because the engines way back under the rear end of the car. So you have all that extra space, but when you go mid engine, suddenly the firewall [00:39:00] is right there behind the seats.

And that’s the way of the world. Whether you’re looking at mid engine Porsches, Ferraris, Lotuses, and everything in between. But I think what’s more important to understand here is if you’re going to come in and make a big bang and play in the sports car space, the winning formula is going to be mid engine and you’re 100 percent right about the weight distribution.

If you want the DeLorean next gen to be a performer, people aren’t going, well, it doesn’t do this and it doesn’t handle right. You want them to come out of and go. The driving experience was 11 out of 10. Fantastic handles like a dream and go from there because let’s face it, there’s only one car left in the planet that is still produced with the motor hanging out over the back end.

And that’s the 911. And if you watch its evolution, it continues to get longer and the motor somehow gets closer to the driver every year. Even there, the Germans are like, just keep refining this idea until it gets better. So I’m glad that you I’m a fan of that idea. I think that’s going to make the car that much [00:40:00] better.

It’s going to put it in the hands of enthusiast drivers that want to show up to their next track day and go check out what my DeLorean can do against your Porsche, your Corvette, or your Ferrari.

Kat DeLorean: That’s actually a really good point. And my father, he drove an NSX because of the handling. I could outdrive a Dodge Viper in his six cylinder NSX because it handled like nothing else on the road.

That car is still to this day, one of the most amazing and fun cars I’ve ever driven in my life. And so this car. Has to be fun to drive. It can’t just be pretty. It can’t just be safe. It can’t just be standing with steel has to be fun to drive because that is being forgotten today by all of these numbers.

These statistics. It’s great that it goes really fast 0 to 60. Some of them go really fast 0 to 60 and not even in a straight line very well. And that’s What’s the point? So it’s really important that this not just handle well and not just be [00:41:00] beautiful. It has to be fun to drive. So no pressure. Angel.

Crew Chief Eric: I like the fact that you brought up the NSX because that always had Ayrton Senna stamp of approval.

So that speaks volumes about that car. It’s been a couple of years since your initial design ideas and the sketches and the renderings that we’ve seen. Is there anything about the car? That you see changing at this point. And let’s not talk about power plants and layouts so much as is there anything that you’ve gone back and said, I want to do differently.

I want to do this now that I know more than I did then any other accommodations that you’re making or anything that you’re thinking about?

Angel Guerra: Uh, yes, I need to adapt a bit. The proportions, the roof line is a bit too low. So I need to redesign with a shorter front bumper with a shorter frontier with Different roofline, but I will say that I will keep more or less the original design as it is, you know, I will implement new solutions that I [00:42:00] won’t say yet because of it should be a surprise to me now we’ve got, when we are doing this new model, I have to restart the car for the beginning, I have to rebuild the whole model, you know, and This process, I will use it to improve the model as a setting proportions, but also the surface treatment and also to define a bit more some elements that I didn’t because of this model was done.

I will say really quick. In my free time and just for visualization to make some renders and that’s all now that it’s going to be real and it’s going to be a proper car, you know, should be done in a professional way, getting much more about details. But one thing that I have to say from experience about this car, when you see a car in the pictures, maybe for you, it doesn’t look too good.

And you see in real life, I say, okay, now it looks better than in the picture. Always looks better in real life than in the picture. Always. [00:43:00] Always. So when you see a car that you like on a computer screen, on a magazine, whatever, and you see the car on the street, you will be surprised. You will look. I like when people say, I like the car.

When they see the car in the picture, because I’m sure that when they will see this model in production on the streets with the new treatment, with the new proportions, which everything how should be done in the personal way for a real car, people will say, wow, because I have the same feeling with the remark.

Never. We did this car, the whole car in the screen, because we didn’t have in that time, the money to bake a one to one model. To double check the design, you know, something that you do in any place. But in that time, Rimac, it was a kind of a startup company and we didn’t have the money. We wasn’t sure about the car.

We like it on the screen, but we wasn’t sure. And my boss told me, if you like the car on the screen, you will see it in real life. And I remember when I saw the first prototype of the Rimac Concept 2. Like, [00:44:00] wow. So you see the car on the screen and you don’t really appreciate the proportion. This car is as wider as LaFerrari.

The height is the same that LaFerrari. The proportion of this car is quite amazing. When you will see this light bar. Running through the whole car, lighting this LED with the stainless steel, you know, this combination of material of carbon fiber, stainless steel, LEDs, these proportions, unique elements, like at the door opening, the trunk glass with these plates, the rims, the feeling that I want to, to awake in people is the same feeling that when people saw the original DeLorean.

I have to create different elements, different, let’s say, tricks to feel the feeling. But I think that people will be shocked when they will see this car in real life.

Crew Chief Eric: It’s funny that you put it that way because the more I’ve looked at this car over the last couple of years, the word that has always come to my mind is the word timeless.[00:45:00]

And there’s very few cars that that adjective can be associated with. If you go back super early, 250 series, Ferraris, E type Jags, things like that, the classics. But in the modern times, we’re talking about The FD third gen RX seven, the mark four Supra, the Audi R8. When you look at those cars, you can’t tell what year they’re from.

And that’s true of this design being a couple of years old already. You look at it and you go, what year is this from? And 20 years from now, we’re still going to go. What year is this from? Because it looks so modern and so different, and it doesn’t take the design cues like you would see coming out of Lamborghini, where everything has looked like the Aventador for the last 18 years, and it’s just a variation thereof.

There’s iconic cars like the 911. The 911 has to look like a 911. The minute they change it, It won’t be a 911 anymore, but this, you look at it and again, it’s hard for your eye to stop because of the way it flows. And so the word I want to put with it, ironically enough, is timeless.

Angel Guerra: It’s hard [00:46:00] sometimes to don’t follow the trends on automotive design.

But if you want to make something different, you have to, but I didn’t create anything new in the way that I usually follow the topology of the original DeLorean. This is really easy. If you make a cross section of the car, you know, through the door, you see that this section. From the roof to the side, plus runs down in one line and then change the direction in the opposite direction.

You know, the front and the rear of the delo is different, but the topology is the same. So you just need to implement this into a new model. Nowadays, for example, it’s, I’ll just say, it’s hard to find cars like they, they did it. For example, I think about the the first Audi Dtt. It could be a good.

Interpretation about what is a timeless design. So think about this car. You say, okay, this is, it looks quite simple, but no. All the set line runs with the design lines, you know, from our rear are different, but has the same [00:47:00] topology. You know, maybe before you start to sketching, you have to think a lot. If you want to make something like this, in this case, I tell you it was easy because I only had to look to the previous model.

And to identify why this model is so unique and timeless, and then not to copy, but you need to transfer these elements into nowadays, and then you have to add some new elements, of course, because if not, we are doing the same thing that they did it 40 years ago, but with a model training. And this is not what I wanted to do.

I want to do something that reminds you to the original DeLorean, also that looks futuristic and in 10 years will still, will look good.

Kat DeLorean: Timeless is a great way to go with this car. Cause I remember looking at some of the new cars and then I saw DeLorean next to them not too long ago. And I went, wow, that car just stood the test of time and it looks.

It’s very, very modern. But to your point, Eric, about the flow of the car. So I went to [00:48:00] art school and one of the first things you learn in design one is how to create art. I use photography a lot as an example when I talk about this because you can take a picture this way and you just frame it a little bit different and it’s a whole other photograph.

The principles of design say to look at how we experience life. One of it is how you read a picture. In some cultures, you have to consider they read backwards. So which way do your eyes naturally flow through things? And then how do you create a design that makes your eye continue, like you described? So that is the ultimate goal of any design at the fundamental foundation of proper design is to get your eye to continue to flow through the whole thing.

And I think that element, I couldn’t put my finger on it. I think you just described the quoi. I think that’s it. When I first saw this car and the renderings of it, my breath was taken away. No matter how many times I saw the video, it still happens, but it was that visceral react. I had that reaction. I [00:49:00] had the reaction to this car that everybody has to seeing the first DMC 12.

It’s stunningly beautiful and simplistic in how gorgeous it is.

Angel Guerra: I will tell you one trick that I use it. And also I will show you the way of thinking of a designer. If you take the original model, there is one element that for me looks too old for me. This black stripe running through the whole car, because it’s a plastic that is not glossy and looks like something from the 80s.

So when you say, okay, I need to transfer this. Element into the, the new car, but this looks quite old school for me. What should I do? Should I delete this element or what to do? What I did is like, okay, this element should be in the new car. And for me, it looks too old. So I will do that. This element, it will be.

The most sophisticated high tech thing in the car. So the car will be stainless steel, whatever, but this black stripe around the car, it will be a full LED that it will [00:50:00] be the lights of the car. Also, I will implement into this black stripe. The cameras, the sensors, the lighters, whatever, you know, all the high technology distribute around the car in this black stripe.

This is what I say that this is the clever way of thinking that John DeLorean will try to put into this model. So you keep it and you transform this element into something futuristic. At the end, this is something unique. My idea of the front lights running, not only on the front area of the front bumper that Also turned into the side, you know, this is something I will say new, many brands they are doing right now and the front on the rear too.

This light bar that is running also the side, maybe it’s not legal in Europe to turn this on when you’re running, but when the car is parked and you need to open and close the car or whatever, you can activate it and It could be a nice welcome opening show, you know, for example. I

Kat DeLorean: actually have a plan [00:51:00] for how to argue that it should be allowed in other circumstances other than just parks.

I definitely think it will not pass regulations to have it on all the time. Because then that will result in everybody putting LEDs everywhere. However, as I see it, it’s very helpful for side view. If you’re parking or you’re trying to, you know, move your car around, you can actually see at night what’s around your car, if you can use it for very slow backing up and things like that.

So it’s such a cool feature that was. It was a style feature, but it has these implications that I keep thinking about. Well, it would be very useful for me not to hit the squirrel next to my, I

Crew Chief Eric: don’t know. I don’t know. With goldwing doors, you just open them and look out the side. You can see all everything you need to, right?

Kat DeLorean: Yeah. So there’s one fan who’s really particular about hating that people drive row with their doors open and they say, could you please make it so the door automatically closes if you start moving while it’s open? And I said, I’m pretty sure that will get [00:52:00] me stuffed in a trunk and left somewhere because everybody will be mad that they can’t drive her out with their door open.

But we’ll look into it for you because it’s a safety feature.

Crew Chief Eric: One of the things that John had in mind for the original DMC 12, it was really important, was a target weight. A lot of designers go after a target weight because they want the car to perform at a certain level. Now, because of different things in the motor and packaging and this Now the DeLorean was slightly overweight from its original target, which I would believe is around 2, 400 pounds is what I’ve read.

So what’s the proposed weight of the new design? You, you mentioned that dimensionally it’s similar to LaFerrari, but what are you thinking? Weight wise, where will it clock in?

Angel Guerra: Nowadays, the weight is the tricky area in any car. Most of them, they don’t release the official weight. But it should be something between in kilos or let’s say in tons, 1.

7, 1. 6, 1. 8. It’s impossible to make something [00:53:00] lighter, to be honest. Even LaFerrari’s with the driver and everything is 1. 6.

Crew Chief Eric: So about 3, 200 pounds.

Angel Guerra: Yes, because for example LaFerrari, they have, it’s a kind of hybrid, you know, with the girls and everything. All the sports cars and hypercars, they will be kind of hybrid, you know, and they have electric motors, they have battery pack, plus the engine that is a big engine.

Even when you create a carbon fiber monocoque or they steer in carbon fiber, the weight of the car is impossible. I think you might be able to reduce 1. 6 because of. Also, the interior should be quite comfy. You need a lot of elements for comfort, AC, security reasons, you know, you need the crash screen on the front, the structure on the rear, coolers, fans, a lot of components.

So the only car maybe nowadays that It’s quite light for the standard. She’s the McLaren. They say that’s the only one that is lighter than the others. One on it [00:54:00] goes. A lot of compromise for the occupants regarding the comfort. You have a really good performance on the track, but not for daily drive. So the weight target is quite important.

It should be optimized, but at the end, should be something between 1. 6, 1. 8 tons, more or less.

Crew Chief Eric: If you go full EV, we get it. But if you go petrol powered or petrol hybrid, who’s going to supply the motor? What are you thinking? And what size would it be? Is it some sort of turbocharged, smaller engine? Are we going V8?

What are we talking?

Kat DeLorean: True to my father. I can’t decide on the correct powertrain without a little bit more experience and experimentation. So we actually have three currently in development, and we have not just ice, but hydrogen, and then also our electric. And when it came to the A turtle combustion engine.

I have a smoky eunuch. You know, I don’t want to say that because I don’t want to [00:55:00] pull the eunuchs into this without talking to them. But I feel like that’s what I have. I call him Smokey Wolf because he also has been able to fix everything that’s come up so far. But his name is Chris. And you know what?

I’m gonna murder his last name because it might be Italian. I don’t know. I want to say Chinchis. Because it’s CI and CIS, but he builds top fuel dragsters. I said to him, I made the comment, we should figure out how to make a smoky engine. I want a lot more horsepower and to get killer gas mileage. His stated goal is a thousand horsepower and 80 miles to the gallon.

How close we get to that. I don’t know. I also told him, please don’t kill me. So maybe a little bit more weight in the car would be good. He’s a little insane, and I love it. But that’s what we’re doing. And he’s not just working on one option. He’s examining multiple different ways in which we can meet the challenge of more horsepower, better gas mileage.

And one of the key components that I’ve asked him to try and take a look at is [00:56:00] can we design something that will do this that we can offer to. Existing ice cars because it’s not just about building a new car that people could buy. I love my cars. I’d like to save them. I would like to find a way to make them last as long as possible.

I would also like to find a way to maybe offset them killing the planet, all of these other things so that everybody’s happy if I can. then amazing. If I can’t, then at least I try, but we are definitely going to have something that is John DeLorean worthy when it comes to the internal combustion engine, because I have a true genius working on it.

Angel Guerra: For example, in Bugatti, the new Bugatti will be a hybrid. It will have a combustion engine plus motors, but the combustion engine, it will be a big one. So I think for the next 10 years, we will have combustion engine soon. I hope that they will find a way to fly these engines with synthetic petrol, you know, um, I hope that they [00:57:00] could survive in this crazy thing.

Kat DeLorean: I think we will. I think it’s just a matter of figuring a few things out. Everybody wants to move completely away from internal combustion engines. I actually believe that’s the wrong answer. I believe the answer is finding a way to make them a viable solution. If for no other reason, then that’s a lot of cars to put in the trash.

So let’s do something with them. But I think there are alternative viable options that we’ll be able to find as we start to focus on availability of all things. I love electric cars. My dad loved electric cars. He really supported the electric car movement when it started, but we do have to examine the challenges that we have with electric cars.

You have the battery problems with the sourcing of the materials and issues with the fires that happen. We’re studying all of these technologies. So we may just come back around to some hybrid version of these two technologies is the answer that we need. That allows us to even run it without spilling more carbon into the air.

Crew Chief Eric: Not only that, [00:58:00] if you want the DeLorean next generation to take a seat in the motorsports world, you have to take a page from Acura and a lot of the other design houses out there where there are going hybrid because right now nobody has an all EV. Car to hint, hint on top of that. I’d love to see this design in some sort of livery.

Maybe, maybe we’ll go old school, little Alitalia or something like that. But, you know, it would be nice to see a DeLorean out on the racetrack alongside of the other cars in places like IMSA and WEC and world challenge and things like that. So who knows, right? The future is still unwritten, but speaking of the future, let’s get away from the design a little bit.

So Angel. How are you going to be involved in the build process of the new car? Are you going to be involved in everything that’s happening in Detroit and so on? How do you see yourself involved in the team longer term?

Angel Guerra: The process, the design processes is not so cool as it looks. It is actually, it’s really hard.

So my plan is to create the exterior, the interior, but at the same time, when I release all these parts to [00:59:00] keep the process with the guys that will produce these parts, I’m sure that they will have. Issues when they will try to create the tooling and then they will come back to me and say, Hey, you need to change the blah, blah, blah, blah.

This is a long process. Let’s say that 30 percent is to design the car and 70 percent is to follow the design into production. I mean, my plan is to finish the design of the interior and interior and when I will release the parts for the guys, I will try to be close to them to solve any problems. There is a lot of work do because of there are many elements of the car that should be done.

For example, the lights or some components like the mirror, the rims, speaking about interior, there are hundreds of parts, so there is a lot of work to do. I mean, this is my daily job. I’ve been working on several prototypes, show cars. production cars. For example, the Rima Carnevera, the show car, it was done only by two persons, my boss and me.

You know, the show car that we [01:00:00] presented in Geneva in 2018, exterior and interior was done by two persons. So for me, it’s a challenge. to do the new DeLorean, but it’s also my daily job. I think that this process, it could take 10 months maybe to finish everything exterior and interior and also to, to have the guys to do everything out of the tooling.

And then we will see. I have a, let’s say a fixed position in Bugatti. Um, after many years, I was able to work from home. And come back to my place and start a family before was impossible. You have to be in the design studio, um, that they feel confidence to send you work. And the next day they have back this work.

And they can use it with the time and working really hard. I was able to work now from home. Um, for me, it works. Quite well, I don’t see any problem working here in Spain and sending out my data to Detroit, whatever, and double check with the guys, the [01:01:00] issues, solving the problems. So a bit complex to create a car and to produce a car.

I’m speaking about parts, you know, exterior and interior, maybe not the chassis. There is a designer who must be in charge of this part because are visible. I’m sure that if I have the opportunity to start to finish this project, it will look very good.

Kat DeLorean: In the beginning, Jason and I said, well, why don’t we make this part of the car out of carbon fiber?

Cause we had somebody who could do it easily. And they said, well, Angel said black plastic. Who do we listen to? I said, let me be clear. Angel’s my first dream that comes true with this company. This is his car. This is his dream. This is his tribute to my father. And so he gets to be involved the entire time in all of these decisions because it’s his vision.

Yes, I have input from my father’s side and things like that, but it’s important that this be his tribute to my father. So if I take away what he has, then it loses its [01:02:00] JZD ness in my opinion, because that’s what it is. That’s why it’s called the JZD. Interestingly enough, I did not know that my father’s working name for his first model was JZD.

So this was a really interesting coincidence. They changed

Crew Chief Eric: names a couple of times. DSV, JZD, DMC. Yeah, exactly. So circling back to the beginning of our conversation really quick, you’ve already mentioned a couple of cars that you’ve worked on. So if people were interested in kind of associating you, Angel, with some of the vehicles that they’ve seen in the magazines or on the road or at their local Cars and Coffee or Concours event, what other vehicles have you worked on over the years that people may recognize immediately?

Angel Guerra: I mean, the most famous for now and the one that is a trend nowadays is the Rimac. The official name is Rimac. I think it’s the first electric hypercar. Now you can see many videos, reviews about the car. There is one very famous that, uh, was already published. The one from Tokyo

Crew Chief Eric: where Richard Hammond drives it off a cliff.

[01:03:00] Yeah,

Angel Guerra: no. Yeah. I mean, it was the original concept one. I also work it on that car, you know. But there is a new episode with the new top gear, you should take a look on this on that video because of the car is, it’s amazing that there is a drag race with a Lamborghini Aventador SPUJ, the sport version of the Aventador, you know, you must watch it.

And I’ve been working also. on normal cars, you know, sedans, but also motorcycles. For example, BMW Motorrad. I worked in a BMW RR. I don’t know, it was a naked from the earliest 2010. The last one and a half year I’m working for Bugatti, but this is quite confidential what I’m doing right now. I’m in charge of really cool project that I hope that in this project, it will be real one day.

You know, the design should be done three years before they release the model. So for example, now I can speak about the Remak because they [01:04:00] presented officially, but I’ve been working on projects in 2019 that I can’t speak yet because they didn’t release it. I can’t even mention the brand or the model that I’ve been working for because they didn’t release the project yet.

So this is something that sometimes is a problem because of in this time in Bugatti I’ve been working on cool projects, but probably until three, four years I can’t put on my portfolio or in my CV these projects.

Crew Chief Eric: I think our fans would be remiss if I didn’t ask you at least one very crucial Pitstop question, which is As a car designer, in your opinion, what is the most beautiful car of all time?

Angel Guerra: I would say it’s impossible answer. Maybe was the sixties when it was a time that you can have the fastest car and the most beautiful car at the same time because they didn’t care about aerodynamics, whatever. You know, nowadays, if you want to make supercar, hypercar, you have to care about safety, [01:05:00] ergonomics, uh, aerodynamics at the end.

You have a a lot of constraints. You want to make it beautiful and nice, but engineers say, no, you need to put our air intake here because of cooling. And you say, no, I don’t want to put it there. I want, um, because I want to put it below because I don’t want that you look at this, uh, I didn’t take, they say no, but this is the best.

Place to put the air intake and you have to find an agreement in this fight. At the end is a compromise between everything. But in the 60s, I think we have the most beautiful cars on the fastest. Think about the Miura, the GTO, the GT40. The cool thing is that the guy who had these cars, they could say, I have the fastest car and the most beautiful at the same time.

Something that nowadays is quite impossible. I’m fascinated about the GT40 because it’s a legend in racing. When I saw this car in my first time in real to see how low for me, it’s a car that is like a 10 [01:06:00] yards forward in time. I say 10, but I could say 20. If I think about a beautiful car that for me is also an icon, the Citroen DS, you know, incredible design for that time.

And especially, I don’t know how a mind in that time could do something like that. For me, it was amazing.

Kat DeLorean: That was my thought when you asked him what the most beautiful was, is how do you choose because you can find different beauty in every car for different reasons. And it’s like you asked that card. I start running through all the cars in my head.

Usually

Crew Chief Eric: the reaction is based upon where your loyalties lie with manufacturers, but also it’s usually the car that got you excited as a kid. So you’ll hear people say 365 GT4 Daytona. E type Jag, Ferrari 250 Testarossa, the 911, the 356, because those are the cars that inspired them as petrolheads. That’s why we always ask that question.

Angel Guerra: For example, Ferrari, nowadays, I don’t like the Ferrari Daytona, to be honest. I don’t think that this car in 10 years will look. [01:07:00] But the time is a good thing to see how a model is good or not, you know.

Crew Chief Eric: The DeLorean Legacy Project is dedicated to extolling the positive impact of John Z. DeLorean and his creations on the world.

They continue to this day through his fans and the owners of the cars. The DeLorean Legacy Project’s mission is to change the world one person at a time. To learn more about that effort, you can log on to www.deloreanlegacy.org or follow them on social at DeLorean Legacy on Twitter. If you want to catch up with Kat, you can follow her on social at ka DeLorean on Instagram and at Catherine dot DeLorean on Facebook.

And if you’re excited about the new. Next generation of DeLorean, you can check out the vehicle that has been inspired by Angel’s design at www. dngmotors. com or follow the car’s progress at dng. motors on Instagram and Facebook or at dngmotors on Twitter. That being said, Angel, I can’t thank you enough [01:08:00] for coming on the show and telling us about what it’s like being a modern car designer and bringing to life something that is going to be timeless.

A study of the master’s work brought into the modern times for all of us to enjoy. And like you said, closing that chapter on history and bringing everybody into this. Next generation of what it means to be a DeLorean owner and enthusiast. And to Kat, I can’t thank you enough as well for coming back to break fix.

And we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Kat DeLorean: I would like to thank my entire team that’s working right now. They are all working very hard and they’re doing so with incredible passion for this project. They’re all staying up very late at night. Can’t go to sleep because they’re excited about what they’re inventing for all of you.

And so any success that we have. A lot of people are going to say yay Kat and it’s yay team. I like to tell people if this all goes wrong you can blame me but if it all goes right you get to blame them.

Angel Guerra: Thank you for this interview, thank you to Kat because for me it’s amazing [01:09:00] that I’m working in this kind of project.

I can’t believe that I’m helping to keep John DeLorean’s dream. And I feel really proud, really, really proud is not to work for reenact for Bugatti. This is nice to say for some people, this is cool. But for me, what really made me happy, this kind of projects and sensing that they started as a exercise of free time and to try to make a tribute to a person who did it really well in the automotive world became.

This This is a really amazing history. I will try to do my best to continue this history into the history that should be a nice one. And this is the only thing that I’m looking for to make something for a new generation. Also, that you can use it as an inspiration to see that if you follow your dreams, and if you work hard, everything could be possible.[01:10:00]

And thank you to Kat and thank you to everyone who is involved in the history. I’m sure that when we will present the car and people will look at the real car, it will open many doors. I’m dreaming every night with that day when we will present the car.

Crew Chief Brad: If you like what you’ve heard and want to learn more about GTM, be sure to check us out on www. gtmotorsports. org. You can also find us on Instagram Also, if you want to get involved or have suggestions for future shows, you can call or text us at 202 630 1770, or send us an email at crewchief at gtmotorsports.

org. We’d love to hear from you.

Crew Chief Eric: Hey everybody, Crew Chief Eric here. We really hope you enjoyed this episode of Break Fix, and we wanted to remind you that GTM remains a no annual fees organization. And our goal is to continue to bring you quality episodes [01:11:00] like this one at no charge. As a loyal listener, please consider subscribing to our Patreon for bonus and behind the scenes content, extra goodies, and GTM swag.

For as little as 2. 50 a month, you can keep our developers, writers, editors, casters, and other volunteers fed on their strict diet of fig newtons, gummy bears, and monster. Consider signing up for Patreon today at www. patreon. com forward slash gtmotorsports. And remember, without fans, supporters, and members like you, none of this would be possible.

Skip ahead if you must… Here’s the highlights from this episode you might be most interested in and their corresponding time stamps.

• 00:00 Introduction to BreakFix Podcast
• 00:27 The DeLorean DMC 12: A Cultural Icon
• 00:58 Meet the Guests: Kat DeLorean and Angel Guerra
• 01:16 Angel Guerra’s Journey to Becoming a Car Designer
• 04:22 Challenges and Triumphs in Car Design
• 12:22 The Vision for the New DeLorean
• 13:08 Inspiration from Giorgetto Giugiaro and John DeLorean
• 16:37 The Future of Car Design and Education
• 27:15 The Stainless Steel Debate
• 35:05 Engineering and Design Considerations for the New DeLorean
• 37:39 Debating the Ideal Sports Car Configuration
• 39:07 The Importance of Driving Experience
• 41:11 Design Evolution and Challenges
• 44:50 Timeless Design Philosophy
• 49:09 Innovative Features and Technology
• 52:10 Weight and Powertrain Considerations
• 58:35 Involvement in the Build Process
• 01:07:06 Reflections and Future Aspirations
• 01:10:21 Closing Remarks and Gratitude