Man ‘relaunching’ Back to the Future car in a Reliant Robin says Taliban want to use it
He claims he's the son of the car's original inventor.
An inventor who is trying to build a new version of the DeLorean car made famous by Back to the Future has claimed the Taliban has expressed an interest.
Ty DeLorean – who says he’s the son of disgraced car mogul John Delorean – claims the new hardline Afghan government want his three-wheeled cars to be used by their officials.
He claims they got in touch with him after seeing news reports of Ty’s mission to build a hybrid version of the iconic car, using the original plans mixed with an Only Fools and Horses-style Reliant Robin.
But he’s been told by the British Government it is illegal to make deals with the Taliban, and says he probably wouldn’t have done it anyway unless the group softened its stance on women’s rights.
Ty, 40, of Newquay, Cornwall, is already facing a legal case from the DeLorean Motor Company, based in Texas, who say his prototype represents a trademark infringement.
Confident he can win the court case, he’s looking at ways of mass-producing the car and believes it will sell ‘millions.’
He’s already started taking pre-orders for £20,000 each and is looking at ways of building an electric version.
In an email, he was told the Taliban wanted to invest in the project as the cars would be ‘perfect’ for Afghanistan’s rural roads.
Ty said he was ‘open’ to the business opportunity as he felt it could be used as part of peace negotiations as a ‘vehicle for change.’
‘I had offers for business from the current Afghan government, but I don’t really know what to do about it,’ he said.
‘It was via email saying they had received previous news reports of the car on their desk and they were interested in mass producing it.
‘They would start with cars for government officials and lead on from that. I am now just waiting to hear from the transport minister to see what more they have got to say.
‘I phoned the UK government and they said they wanted to see all the emails.. And they told me it was illegal to do business with the Taliban in any way shape or form.
‘That put a bit of a dampener on things, but I probably wouldn’t have pursued it anyway because of their laws against women.
‘I thought the car could be some sort of peace negotiation. Like a vehicle for change. Just like the original DeLorean helped bring groups together – maybe the car could be used to get the Taliban to drop their hard line stance. Like a new beginning in the middle east peace negotiations.’
The communication was supposedly from current Afghani transport minister, Qudratullah Zaki.
He apparently wrote to Ty: ‘The Civil Aviation of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan extends its compliments to you and your brilliant motor vehicle at Delorean motor company.
‘Your amazing achievements were brought to my attention in your latest media interviews which has gone around the world and landed on my desk in a local newspaper.’
The correspondence said they would ‘like to move forward with investment in your business’.
Ty said it was not a shock to him that governments were interested but he was surprised that it was the Taliban that came forward.
He added: ‘The car has had a great deal of exposure across the world and I have previously had correspondence with the Indian government.
‘I did anticipate someone mass producing these vehicles or a four wheeled version at some stage.
‘The story is still developing. If it goes anywhere else I don’t know but if they dropped their hard line stance I would be interested.
‘My ambition has always been to mass produce these cars and reignite the DeLorean dream.
‘It is just a shame the Taliban are so controversial. I would rather get an offer from someone else. I can see it legitimately happening and it could be mass produced in the future and be a great seller in third world countries.
‘We could then repay the British tax payer and build DeLorean cars here for the rest of the world – right back where it all started.’
The original two-passenger sports car with its instantly recognisable gull-wing doors was the only car brought to market by the DMC before it went bankrupt in 1982.
The company’s owner Mr DeLorean found himself embroiled in a cocaine trafficking scandal and, although he was eventually found not guilty, his reputation never recovered and he died in 2005.
Despite its short-lived production, and reputation for poor performance, the car became famous after it featured as a time machine in the hugely popular Back to the Future series.
Some 6,500 of the original cars are still driven on the roads and a new DMC was set up in 1995 to support the owners.
Ty was served with court papers while appearing at a motor show last year, accused of ‘passing off’ his prototype car as a legitimate DeLorean.
The mechanic, who has claimed his mother met Mr Delorean while he was building his factory in Northern Ireland, says he has a right to make the cars and expects the case to end in court.
He added: ‘I spoke to my solicitor and this is not going away. I’ve paid court fees of £600 and it’s all been filed accordingly. There is going to be a hearing and I can not see myself losing.
‘They seem to be under the impression I have been selling cars. I’ve not sold any. It is purely artistic impressions at this point and is not a clear cut trademark infringement.’
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