Debut of the De Lorean

John Z. De Lorean, 56, has been audacious enough--many would say foolhardy --to attempt what no American has done since Walter Chrysler opened his first assembly line in 1925: launch a successful new mass-production auto company. The De Lorean is a low-riding, two-seat sports car that seems more suitable for Monte Carlo than Main Street. Two of the vehicle's distinctive features: a brushed stainless-steel finish expected to be rustproof for at least 25 years and unusual gull-wing doors that open up instead of swinging out and make it simple for someone as lanky as the 6-ft. 4-in. De Lorean to nestle into the plush leather seats. The car's price tag: $25,000.

De Lorean still exudes the brash self-assurance he displayed in 1973, when he walked out of a $650,000-a-year executive post at staid General Motors to create his own auto company. To finance his factory, he approached rival governments like a baseball free agent dickering with club owners. The U.S. Government offered him $65 million in loan guarantees if his plant were built in Puerto Rico, but De Lorean took $114 million in loans and grants from Britain to make his cars near economically depressed Belfast in Northern Ireland.

The first shipload of De Loreans is due to arrive next week at Long Beach, Calif. More than 10,000 people have put down as much as $2,000 for options to buy the car, and De Lorean is confident that the high sticker price will not scare away customers. Says he: "Our buyer is someone in the $70,000-a-year income bracket or over, and he is pretty much unaffected by minor economic travails."

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