RARE 1980 DELOREAN CRASH TEST VIDEO - UNCUT VERSION

[Rotard12a]

I don't think people realize just how safe this car was compared to it's contemporaries. The original concept was the DSV "DeLorean Safety Vehicle", which DeLorean wanted to be the first safety vehicle that didn't look hilarious and perform like a dump truck. Not all of the concepts made it in, but it was still much safer than any other sports coupe from designed in 1979, and probably was at least *as* safe into the early 90's

[heyheyscotty]

It's a beautiful car, yes, and fetches crazy prices these days. But wow, just wow. You would be king fucked if you crashed in this thing, no matter what speed. Either the cabin would cave your body and crush you like a pancake, or some of that heavy steel would slice you up nicely, not to mention in case of fire, it'll be almost like a pure oven in the thing. Agreeing with the bloke, a mere play toy, not a daily,

[dave46563]

Thats what happens when you try to time travel but only reach 87mph just before the Indians!

[3Dtacos]

And ive always said that I want to get a delorean. Wrong decision. Well, maybe as a novelty, but not to drive.

[3Dtacos]

It would have been cool if there was a trail of flames behind it during the test and the license plate fell off and spun around.lol

[pimpb0tt]

Wow, that is really terrible. The whole passenger compartment folded in half. I'll bet a real driver would have both legs badly broken in an accident like this. Yikes!

[Rotard12a]

@pimpb0tt What they don't tell you in the crash test ratings is that even in new cars you are quite likely to break your legs at the expense of saving your organs and head.

[AleCuppycakes15]

(Gasp) My Baby!

[Crelus26]

Ooooh, damn, on the slow-motion clip you can see the frame of the car buckling, that's awesome :D

[Acelapower1224]

I holded up pretty good since the front is all trunk and and cabin was fine so you would live in a crash at that speed in a delorean

[a709262]

1.21 jiggaWHAT?!

[1978mtb]

this is what happens when your flux capacitor doesn't work!!!!

[ou2538]

The way I see it, the car's front frame crumbled horribly. But the passenger compartment seemed a little springy during the crash and survived.

At least we know, that I were to purchase a DeLorean, and crash it. I would survive, safely, but the car would need a full front frame replacement.

[TheTERMlNAT0R]

Looks like a fail. Lol

[519ER4LIFE]

and your dead!

[LOPEZdJUNGLIST]

didnt make it to 88

[kilop202085972020]

what happens when it really hits 88 mph---lol

[iluvcarsalot]

this is why i hate the delorean!

[toyyy89]

GREAT SCOTT!!!

[SuperMartini123]

oh... that was bad. xD

[JohnnyBriz]

@BlackDynamiteNYC Those are GulWing doors to idiot.

[BlackDynamiteNYC]

Man, those Scissor doors came in handy!

[mdgsdg]

Wait so deloreans DO have airbags??

[IwantaLexusLFA]

@mdgsdg In fact I didn't know that DeLorean was equipped with full size airbag

[mdgsdg]

@IwantaLexusLFA I don't think they are. I think this one in the video was a prototype that had airbags cause everywhere else it says Deloreans are sold without airbags… But idk

[IwantaLexusLFA]

@mdgsdg As long as i remember the first car with airbag was born right in the 1980: Mercedes S-Klasse/SEC/SL.

[mdgsdg]

@IwantaLexusLFA i believe that is correct. i looked into it and saw that the normal production deloreans did not have airbags due to their high price and John Delorean didn't have the money to include them. This was a prototype and there were a few prototype deloreans that had airbags or gasbags but regular ones did not. however, if you really want one with airbags, with a lot of money, you can pretty much do anything… im sure installing an airbag wouldn't be too difficult.

[adam3176]

at least the doors pop open.. so if you are remotly alive you may crawl out.. this is just horrible..

[1995redlac]

it was going like 25 mph..

[tomecco76]

The perception of the eye is so misleading. this cage is SAFE!

btw. Wake up! These ones aren´t made for Roads anyway ;D

[audioblogs12]

Why did they have to forget to turn the flux capacitor on?

[1bentley4ever]

Wow! And there is a gas tank up front too. Imagine how bad it would be if a DeLorean with a full tank of gas rear ended a Pinto. :O

[xuckolp]

Die

[juga177]

You're not thinking 4th dimensionally! If you can get her up to 88mph, we'll go back to 1885 and that wall won't even BE THERE.

[matman000000]

I was just going to build my own time machine, but now I guess I'll use some other car than DeLorean.

[DaMastaOfRoad]

total fail like everything else on that car haha :)

[hyunki0510]

roll cage anyone?

[nissangtr1100]

no wonder they stopped making them



[bartmaster1234]

NOO! I KNEW THERE WASN'T ENOUGH ROAD TO HIT 88 MILES PER HOUR!

[RickMakesGoodVideos]

He kept on going because he thought before he hit the wall he would go into the future but then Doc forgot to install the electronics so Marty died.

[shawnhbkdx90]

yep. youl be fine

[ethanvid]

Def not built for safety

[tonidmc]

@ethanvid what you, say? in the final photogram you can see the dummies in nos o bad shape. If you know how the dmc was build, the panels are only screwed to a composite plastic underbody, so that tremendous damage on the stainless steel is no so dramatic on the underbody that protects the occupants.

[ethanvid]

@tonidmc Did I say safety? I meant speed. The catapult go's faster than the car can. Hahaha. No but really, at a closer look I see what your saying.

[tonidmc]

@ethanvid hahaha ok the dmc was not a muscle car but it had a top speed better than 81's Trans Am, Z-28 or that crappy 4 cylinder turbo mustang, and equal to a 81 vette. the early 80's were not times for high horspower figures. The worst point of the dmc performance is the acceleration but, again, not much worst that most of the cars that shared market with it...

[ethanvid]

@tonidmc True. Like how the VW Beetle was great in the snow and great on gas mileage. Compared to the cars at the time. But when 1 car can create a following to the point that an entire car show is dedicated to that model, that's something special. besides, you can soup up anything these days.

[sexyboi142]

@ethanvid actually the chassis is built like an F1 racecar (of that time period) and the delorean was actually rather safe. The stainless steel parts are built to crumble around the passengers and the chassic protects the occupants

[ATLZero]

@sexyboi142 You need to get your eyes checked if you think that is rather safe. You can find video of Volvo 240s from that time period who's passenger cabins stay intact in the same speed full frontal crashes. The passenger compartment of this DeLorean is severely compromised during that crash.

[sexyboi142]

@ATLZero umm that Volvo was made with 100% Steel. Stainless steel does not have the same strength. The deloreans pieces are built to come off like that in a crash and for one they aren't welded on, they're bolted on, and the chassis is built to F1 Racecar standards. The delorean, though not looking safe, was actually a rather safe car. Otherwise it would've never made it to the market.

[roadwarrior144]

Correct me if Im wrong but aren't the stainless steel exterior panels bolted to a fiberglass shell that sat on top of a double "Y" shaped frame from Lotus?

[Stevegasm]

"Marty, he's in a '46 Ford, we're in a DeLorean. He'd rip through us like we were tin foil."

[GamezGames19]

@Stevegasm Do you mean the DeLorean is unsafe?

[Rotard12a]

F off, Emmett Brown

"...the IIHS tested a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air crashing head-on [with a 2009 Malibu]... The Bel Air's occupant compartment was extensively damaged... The driver dummy in the Bel Air recorded forces that would produce a fatal injury to a real driver. The car performed far worse than the [GM minivans] that were the worst performers of all time in the IIHS offset test... The Malibu driver dummy recorded forces that would produce only a minor foot injury"

Chunky & Heavy =/= Safe

[cheaptrickkiss]

OMG... I actually am considering buying one...

[xmodcrazy]

apparently he didn't hit 88mph...

[kyrkbymannen]

I hope the flux capacitor held up!

[kyrkbymannen]

I hope the flux gapa Igor

[HerecomestheCalavera]

It doesn't hold up much better against a train either.

[machone7I]

Well, i doubt a rear engined Ferrari from the 80's for example is much safer... It's bad now that we see intact compartments and crumple zones in modern cars.

[SuperTransistor]

oh my God! Just like a Chinese car!

[XxGodxOfxWarxX1000]

Hurts me to see the car like that :/

[drackula1985]

Time circuits ON!

This tells you where you are goi...*BANG*

[Milesprower1100]

You did not hit 88mph...

[lslb2010]

looks safe to me! 

[171soap]

No survivors.The flux capacitor must have been broken when they did this.So much for seeing some serious shit.

[pkzproductions]

never got to88 mph in time!

[NJfirerescue70]

If My Calculations are correct... When this baby hits 88 miles per hour.... We're going to see some serious SH*T!!

[ApplePieManFromMars]

Someone needs to go back in time to stop this crash.

[eiroight]

If he had went 88mph that wouldnt have happened.

[stonee206]

Holy shit that is really bad!!!

[HankIsAwsome]

at least the doors open so you can get out lol

[ace19901227]

What people don't get is, this isn't a bad crash test. The crash you see is the same crash over and over. The angles after the first shot, make it look like the car is bent in half and the roof is bent. Not true, it's an illusion bc of the doors. The doors were designed to lift up or fall off. The hood smashed inward away from the windshield and the sides go to the left and right. DMC-12s do not have airbags though so you better wear your seatbelt. Which you should always do. The DMC-12 is safe.

[huhhhhhhhhhhhh09]

@ace19901227 Yeah, I agree, it looks worse than it really is but damn if you crash one of these, it's fucked. I would hate myself afterwards.

[ace19901227]

@huhhhhhhhhhhhh09

Oh yes, any car that crashes at this speed is fucked. But if you crash a Honda Civic then who cares, theres a million Honda Civics in the world, you crash a Delorean then you just destroyed a piece of history. If you have the money you could get a "new" one built for you in Texas but $50,000+ for a new Delorean? Fuck that, I'm going to ebay.

[ytcf71]

@ace19901227 No, its a terrible design. On any other car the doors stay where they are and absorb the inpact down the side of the car - On this they just popped up, leaving on a thin T bar and a 6" square box section chassis absorbing the impact, and as you can see it bent both of them with ease. It folded up allowing the engine and gearbox to move forward..

[ace19901227]

@ytcf71

The doors are supposed to pop up like that, and that T bar is anything but thin. The Delorean is not perfect, we all know that (thanks Jimmy Carter! asshole) but it is not a deathtrap and this video is a poor example of how the Delorean performs in a head on crash. I've actually been in a head on crash in a Delorean going 30mph; I was in the passenger seat and we hydro planed into a parked truck. The only thing that happened to us was a soar neck. I speak from experience, wby?

[ytcf71]

@ace19901227 the doors are not 'supposed' to pop up like that, that's how you would expect a gull wing design to act. The chassis is a central girder type like on a lotus And the t bar has no heal strength as its not past of the chassis. Just the body. Which is fibre glass. The video is your evidence.

[mgabrysSF]

@ace19901227

No shit. People see a car that's chewed up because the took the energy of the crash instead of spatting the people inside and think OMG!

Is the crew compartment intact? Yes. Did the engine go through the firewall? No.

[TURBOKNIGHTRIDER]

did you see?the crash was with DRIVER AIRBAG!but delorean never OFFERED a DRIVER Airbag!:-)

[odiemodie1]

Good lord... the way that car crumpled up like a tin can... the nice, long, sexy-looking hood of that Delo just folded all the way up into the occupants' space... the air bags that were used didn't look like they helped either... the crash test dummys' head snapped all the way back as it slid under the bag... seeing this, cuts my desire down to get one...

[Osirisset]

@odiemodie1 Airbags, Where we're going we don't need airbags.

Actually, the deloreon didn't come with airbags, like many/most prodution cars or it's day. Now standard, then a luxury.

The front end seems to be a bit before it's time, as it crumples up and absorbs a lot of the impact while preventing the engine block or the steering wheel from entering the cabin compartment.

Mind you, AFAIK, these tests are conducted at 30mph.

I've been in a near head on collision and I was stationary at the time

[ytcf71]

@Osirisset The engine engine is in the back doofus...

[GrapeKingProductions]

NOOOOOOO MCFLY!!!!!

[JWROWE3]

That looks like a fatal crash.

.

[imnottellinguwhy]

Boy...Micheal J. Fox should have not had that last round of Jager-bombs before he left hooters last night.

[wrestlingfan65]

so ur sure we will go back in time before we hit the wall...hell yess.

[jayocular]

didnt even know they had air bags back then....seems ahead of the times despite all the other let downs deloreon had

[CorollaLvr2000]

@jayocular It was ahead of it's time. GM experimented with airbags and even had them as an option in a few mid-70s model cars (most notably Oldsmobiles), but the early airbag systems mostly did more harm than good. This early on in the 80s, Mercedes and DMC were two of the very few car companies that were actually regularly using them.

[irangeles]

@CorollaLvr2000 AHEM, the DeLorean didn't come with airbags, EVER... These were prototypes... They didn't use airbags because of the cost...

[CorollaLvr2000]

@irangeles My mistake. I don't have a lot of experience with DeLoreans, due to the rarity and the fact that nobody can talk about them without a 20 minute rant about Back to the Future... I stand corrected.

[irangeles]

@CorollaLvr2000 LOL!!! At the same time, in any crash, I bet the DeLorean crumples quicker than a tin can, and you'd die even at a 30mph crash...

[NeonVars]

Wow, the car got recked in such slow speed. Id hate to see be hit by a fray train...oh wait...i have....(back to the future)

[hawayly]

this is back to the future the time travel

[blzbug242]

Back to nothing. Because youll be dead

[StoneCold75]

I need a term that goes with this video ...5 seconds

INST_NT D_ATH

[1MtnBoy]

well then you dont understand crash-testing. every mfg conducts crash testing to confirm computer modeling predictions and validate structural loads, occupant safety etc. and yes they DO protect occupants. try hitting a new F-150, that frame isnt going to bend easily. I feel sorry for anyone going up against one of those ! PS: this isnt what killed DMC, go read up on DMC it actually started out as a very good idea.

[oceantrolls73]

i fail to understand what is the point of running a car into a concrete block at a high rate of speed. ANY car would fail to protect the occupants because no cars are built by TANK specifications! no wonder DeLorean never took off... what the hell were they trying to build?

[ytcf71]

@oceantrolls73 Its a standard test, you have to crash it into something. You think a concrete wall at 30 is extreme...? Hardly if you went head on with a truck at 60mph..

[deniseaustinlover]

Wow - There were no crumble zones at all and there was massive failure of the car's frame as well as other miscellaneous rigid, load bearing structures. I would not want to be involved in a crash while riding in this vehicle. PS - Good jokes about Marty McFly - LOL.

[dudewolflag21]

didnt hit 88 in time.....

[GallardoSpyderV10]

Accelerating now to 55 miles per hour, 75, 85, 88 MILES PER HOU.....

[philippe747300]

just to say that delorean doesn't have an airbag.

the airbag has been tested on prototypes, but the car released by dmc on the market was far away from the prototype.

there are no delorean with airbag (except one proto)

[crazyracer12]

My gawd. Deloreans looks good but they sure look battered easily.

[kaltblut]

that's what happens when you put the engine in the back. love the car though. ;)

[jeepers2655]

so that`s why they never made any more sequels.......LOL

[rebelpilot34]

0:29 Mr.Fusion lol

[preludeh22driver]

What the hell? My DeLorean didn't come with air bags.

[no1DdC]

@preludeh22driver Just the early prototypes. John DeLorean experimented with airbags as early as in 1956, but they were ultimately too expensive to include in this vehicle.

[tigerboy1227]

so what, its still a cool car

[FrozenBlaze]

0:24

"I hope our crash test driver Mike is allri-"

0:26

"Oh shi- We saw nothing. I wonder what's for lunch?"

1:12

Mike's skin painted blue, with some crash test dummy stickers added on him to ease the shock.

[smiley1612]

I dont think the air bags are going to help you...

[educatedlime]

I dident know they had airbags in 1980..

[liamfitzp]

this never happened when marty hit the scarecrow

[jimmyg34567]

fuck that

[tonidmc]

@osgamer1990 look at old magazines of the time or in internet and see how much you are wrong.....

[Riot454di]

Shredded like tin foil Marty

[sonic4sale]

If my calculations are correct, when you hit that wall going 88mph, your going to turn into a pile of shit!

[ThoughtCoffee]

I think folks are also not familiar with how cars are designed to crumple in crashes. Yes, the car is destroyed, as any car would be driving at 40 mph into a wall. But look at the cabin closely - the body of the car has bent up and out away from the driver and passenger. This is not coincidence, it is by design. DeLoreans had many ahead-of-its-time safety features, like placing the gas tank in a trianglar area built into the frame to prevent any sort of damage even in the worst of accidents.

[sonic4sale]

@ThoughtCoffee In short... this guy means the car has good crumple zones.

[LondonItalian]

@ThoughtCoffee Yes, cars have crumple zones, but not in the places this one bent (the bases of the bulkheads). As a result of those bend points, the steering column came backwards & up, the airbag & steering wheel then look like they force the drivers neck back 90 deg, which would obviously kill him.

Not great at 35mph, even by 1980 standards... You`d have to be going 60+mph to get that kind of damage in a Jaguar XJS or Porsche 924/44.

[mgabrysSF]

@ThoughtCoffee

It also had a fuel pump inertia switch that would cut fuel on a roll-over. Unfortunately also on a high speed bump (but if you knew where the reset switch was, no biggie).

[cbrjoe73]

It should have hit 88mph before the wall & all that would have been avoided

[FlyingAero]

People watch this without knowing physics. Look at how much the wall moves when the D crashes. It doesnt, which means the wall is pushing back with 40mph making this an 80mph crash. If you crash into anything, there is going to be some flex, and the wall they use is made so it doesnt budge. Crashing into the barrier at 40mph will look better than this, crashing into a tree at 40mph will look better than this and even crashing into another car head on will be better than this.

[LondonItalian]

@FlyingAero Your wrong, hitting a solid object at 40ph is a 40mph impact speed, hitting something coming in the opposite direction at 40 gives an 80mph impact speed.

Hiting a tree at 40mph results in significantly more damage, as the tree (which barely moves when 12"+ wide) concentrates the impact into a much smaller area, slicing much further into the car, missing at least one of the 2 chassis legs, whereas this wall spreads the impact evenly across the front of the car & both chassis legs.

[FlyingAero]

@LondonItalian Newton's third law tells us that when you push against something it pushes back on you with an equal and opposite force. If you went off the road and straight into a building, the building would flex and would probably break depending on the material and your speed. You would be right about the tree depending on type of tree, car, and point of impact.

[505197]

@FlyingAero LOL, yea yer funny. The one who dosen't understand physics is you. Stationary objects do not "push back", the only movement is the car and that's that. It's a 40 mile impact that demolished the car cause the car is designed poorly, Chapman probably had a hand in the utterly dreadful spinless chassis design.

[FlyingAero]

@505197 Did you think before you replied? If the stationary object doesnt push back then why doesnt the wall move at all? If a car hits you at 40mph, it wont have nearly as much damage as if it hit a large tree. Know why? because you arent pushing back on the car and only gravity and your weight are keeping you on the floor.

[505197]

You seem to think a stationary object has a terminal velocity of 40mph. and when added to the automobile's velocity means it's an 80 mph impact, which is wrong. Regardless of your inability to understand this the car was and is a piece of engineering shit, Chapman's involvement almost guaranteed it.

[ytcf71]

@FlyingAero Umm, if you crash into a wall at 40, then its a 40mph crash, not an 80....If you crash into an oncomming car which is also doing 40, thats the same as an 80mph stationary crash..

[BR0WSER9O]

@osgamer1990 I find it funny how you're wrong, it tops out around 130

[IfritAxel]

hey,but it looks like you can crawl out of the car since gull wings bend and make a space to get away

[louizpimp7]

As safe as the Chevy Cruze.

[louizpimp7]

@louizpimp7

Thumbs up for being as safe as Chevy Cruze ;)

[louizpimp7]

@max1980good

It actually had but, BUT, remember to check coolant, oil, tire pressure, Plutonium chamber, AND, the Flux capacitor relays:

FAIL :P

[louizpimp7]

@tulgok

Indeed.

[johnnyd83]

Despite this footage, 90% of people would still rather drive a Delo than a Camry.

I own an 83', and yeah, I wouldnt want to be in a wreck. Then again, nobody does in any vehicle.

Just put the cell phone down and pay attention.

[Gargamile]

So it was not just a bad performer and unreliable piece of junk, but a death trap too.

[centsless302]

Yet people still bought these, if you hit a cat your front bumper is in your lap.

[SLRMC93]

@centsless302 I think that this was an early model, because if you look at the body it looks somewhat smaller to that of the final model, but yes it does look scary as hell, thank god they reinforced the frame in the s2 model!

[hazzardwantcookies]

that crash was my dreams shattering. if i had one of these i would be too scared to drive anywhere crowded more than 25. D:

[AnonymoussourceL0L]

did it DIE?!?!?!

[Maxxxshop]

Answer 1:

This is what Doc Brown did after B.T.F. lll was done.

Answer 2:

That happens, if you you have not stolen enough of that nuclear material.

Anwer 3:

This is Peabody's (or Toyota's) revenge!

These are no reasons to buy a Prius! ;-)

[daedralord1]

good job marty never hit a wall going bak to 1955

[skagui1]

@daedralord1 how 'bout 1985? lol

[rebelpilot34]

@daedralord1 he did going back to the futer

[beatingyou01]

@daedralord1 he hit a train, but that was only once

[daedralord1]

@beatingyou01 the train hit the car as marty jumped from it

he hit old man peabodys barn in 1955, but its a barn the car was fine

[bdogman666]

@daedralord1

Marty did hit the front of the porn theater going from 1955 back to 1985 but still drove away........damn doc was good

[daedralord1]

@bdogman666 did he?

did he not hit 88 mph just before he hit the buildings?

im gona have to watch the movie again ( any excuse to watch it) :)

[frizdag]

wow. so you're basically dead if you wreck it.  nice.

[gullwing14]

Still looks beautiful even afterwords.

[colannelson]

I didn't know it had air bags

[tonidmc]

@colannelson only few prototipes, not the production car

[MusicFromRobE]

So...That's what happens if you get to 88MPH!!!

[DuncanTheNarrowGauge]

@MusicFromRobE no... the test was just about 50 mph

if hed go to 88, he would time travel and miss a that wall

[MusicFromRobE]

@DuncanTheNarrowGauge - Lol. True. Good call.

[maxman1602]

@MusicFromRobE

Good luck even getting up that fast! I highly doubt the Peuget 2.8 V6 could even go that fast, which is why they installed a Porsche engine for the movie.

[meisterJZ]

this car was made up of stainless steel

any1 wanna callit a "tin can"

[noskill1985]

@meisterJZ

This car was made of a fiberglass body with a stainless steel plating and a stainless steel frame.

[knuddiwutz1]

uhhhh

[jammer96]

In early 80's safety standards for cars weren't as high as they are today. According to records this did well for the time period. The doors popped open so the driver and passenger could get out. I still want one of these though. Just dont wreck it if you can avoid it! This was an early prototype with an airbag system.

[FlyingAero]

Illl still take it