Within three years, John DeLorean had taken his sports car gone from little more that an idea to full-blown prototype. To make it real and to make cars in the volumes that he and his small team had mooted, he’d need a major cash injection. The prototype models that had regaled the press served another purpose: A lure for potential investors.

DeLorean exhausted his extensive book of contacts to sweet talk dealers, component suppliers and banks. Through this process, DeLorean established a network of almost 350 dealerships to sell the car, each of whom had paid $25,0000 for the privilege.

None of this resolved the conundrum of where to build the car. Despite the new capital injection, the fledging DeLorean Motor Company needed major backing to move to full-scale production. The Peurto Rican Government appeared to be that saviour and had been preparing a $60m package. However, in June 1978, a Toronto-based investment bank contacted the Northern Ireland Department of Commerce, suggesting that the meet with DeLorean to discuss his proposal.

DeLorean explained that he needed $85m to take the car into commercial production and he was seeking a sizable contribution to that sum. Just seven weeks later, in July 1978, a master agreement was signed between DeLorean Motor Company, the Northern Ireland Department of Commerce, and the Northern Ireland Development agency. DeLorean Motor Cars Limited, the new Northern Ireland manufacturing wing was born.

In return for £61m, Northern Ireland would gain £550,000 of share capital, but more critically 2,000 highly skilled jobs. Northern Ireland was desperate for jobs and even more desperate for some sense of normality. The region was gripped by the Troubles, inward investment of any source was rare and unemployment was rife. Over a tenth of the working age were on the dole, but in parts of West Belfast, it was approaching 50%.

The Labour Government of the day felt that the project was a worth a roll of the dice. By providing well paid, secure jobs, they could tackle the dual problem of sectarian violence and address the economic abyss that engulfed the province. The decision was made to site the factory in Dunmurry, to the south west of Belfast, in a notorious employment blackspot. Construction began in October 1978. The projected volumes for the project were huge; DeLorean promised that cars would be rolling off the assembly line within two years and output would hit 30,000 vehicles a year. Now he moved to tackle his next problem, the car was nowhere near production ready.

DeLorean had nothing more than prototypes. A painfully complex agreement was signed between DeLorean Cars Limited, DeLorean Research Partnership Limited (a company which the Government decreed he must create to ensure the car would be developed to production stage), a Swiss based company called GPD Services and finally Lotus Cars.

The latest DMC-12 was handed over to Colin Chapman and his team at Hethel, only the car now came packaged with a Peugeot – Renault – Volvo (PRV) engineered V6 engine in place of the previous Citroen 4 pot. Why? DeLorean had been determined that his sports car would be V6 powered and due to over capacity, Renault had more engines that they knew what to do with. The only way it would fit was to rear mount it with a Renault 30 gearbox. Lotus had a job on their hands.