THE DELOREAN Motor Company has announced that production is to begin on replicas of the famous DeLorean DMC-12.
The DeLorean's silver gull wing door design was immortalised by the Back to the Future film series, following the collapse of the original manufacturing firm based in Dunmurry.
This will be the first time that new DeLoreans will be built in more than 30 years.
It will also be the first time that the vehicles will be built outside of the original Co Antrim factory. They are to be produced in America, by DMC (Texas), a company which operates under the name The DeLorean Motor Company, but has no connection to the original firm.
The company revealed that they currently have supplies in stock to build around 300 replicas of the DMC-12.
The move is possible due to a recent change in the law affecting small businesses producing cars.
The Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act allows small companies to produce replica models of vehicles produced 25 years ago or more.
"The new law provides common-sense regulatory relief for small businesses that would otherwise be treated as if they were producing millions of cars," DeLorean said in a statement.
"The vehicles must meet current Clean Air Act standards for the model year in which they are produced. This reasonable regulatory reform will also spur innovation, including advances in alternative-fuel and green vehicle technologies".
"It's fantastic. It is a game-changer for us. We've been wanting this to happen," DeLorean CEO Stephen Wynne told KPRC News. "There's no reason to change the appearance of the car," Mr Wynne added.
"As we go into the programme, we'll decide what areas need to be freshened up."
DeLorean is hopeful that production will begin in 2017, with new models estimated to cost around $100,000 (around £70,000).
The company has also released a new advert for the upcoming cars on Youtube.
