Kelly Holder Wins DeLorean Design Challenge Kathryn DeLorean Exclusively Evaluates Designs!

We’re proud to present Kelly Holder as the winner of our DeLorean Design Challenge! Congratulations Kelly! With a stunning 67% of all submitted votes her designs mostly captured what people think a new DeLorean should look like. Of Kelly’s 2 proposals the Hydrogen Electric proposal above was preferred by 60% of her voters, but both stood out above other entries.

Second came in Tony Hunter with 18% of the votes, followed by Hirash Razaghi with 12% and David Malcolm Beasley with 3%. Congratulations to all and thank you to all whom submitted their work. It shows the passion for the DeLorean brand is alive and well, and deserves a proper new design rather than a simple re-hash of things shown previously under different names. DeLorean is worth more than that!

We are very honored that Kathryn DeLorean (Kat), daughter of John Z. DeLorean, was enthusiastic about this competition and was very willing to share her insights about each proposal in much detail.

Here are Kat’s thoughts:

As each person took the time to thoughtfully create an entry, I shall try and at least provide some feedback to each and an understanding of why my favorites were chosen.

Kelly Holder

I chose Kelly’s hydrogen car design as the winner for one simple reason, she incorporated two things in her design that reflect what was important to my father, innovative fuel technology and safety.  I find the design of the car extreme in a familiar way, which reminds me a lot of the original.  Upon first look the car is so incredibly futuristic, but upon closer look I can find the aspects within the design that tug at my nostalgia and familiarity.  This is fantastic marketing, also something my father was keen on. 

For the autonomous car, the attention to adding the emotion of driving once you remove the control would absolutely be a key factor my father would have considered in his autonomous design.  I will drive a manual transmission over an automatic any opportunity I have simply for the sheer experience of shifting the car. When someone loves to drive, the act of driving creates an emotional experience if the car is well designed, thus, this aspect also led to my choice in winner.

Tony Hunter 

 I agree with Tony on how the design is timeless.  As I have been reconnecting with fans and following their excursions with their cars on social media, I find myself looking at how the DeLorean fits in well with today’s cars and styling in a way that is truly unique.  It doesn’t stand out as something that belongs in the days past, but instead looks like a car that is finally living in its proper time. I love this design for recognizing and honoring that.

Hirash Razaghi

What I like about this design is that it reminds me of a DeLorean Camaro.  I am an F-Body girl myself, with my own baby being a 1998 WS6, so this speaks to a part of my heart that belongs to something other than the DeLorean, but still to my father.  For that reason I find it uniquely fetching.

David Malcolm Beasley

The thought, development and consideration that has gone into the design is incredible.  The attention to marketing detail is again, something my father would have done himself and is a true testament to  his attention to detail.  I can see the original car in the design, the nostalgia factor is there and the extreme nature is not a deterrent if there is a reason for it.  This is not a request to change it, just rather justify its existence. 

When my father spoke of what he sought to achieve, whether it be for the GTO or the DeLorean, he always spoke of what that particular feature, including exterior design, meant for his ability to market the car or provide a product of value.  The core principles he wished to maintain in every car he designed were safety, quality, longevity, low cost of ownership, and fun to own and drive. 

The DeLorean was designed with the stainless panels the way it was for two reasons.  First the panels, stainless was only one intended option.  The panels were designed so that when the car was offered in other colors, it would be simple for an owner to simple choose a different one and swap panels.  You start with stainless because it is easy and cost effective to fix. 

Using this information, can you take your design and work to justify the choices you have made to those that tell you it is too extreme as decisions John would have made for this reason? I provide as detailed feedback as I do to help you on your journey.  I love what you are doing, keep on going, don’t lose focus but do shift more towards John’s a bit and I think you have something here.

Foresee Car Design 

I judged yours as brutally honest as all the rest 😊.  That is a testament to my respect for you and your site.  I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to participate, this was a lot of fun.  My thoughts on your designs, again, are done from a place of what my father would have thought.  I am not sure I could judge any of these objectively from my own perspective as his wishes are always in the back of my mind when I represent his Legacy.  

Your designs are too extreme for my tastes, why?  Because of what I mentioned above, my father wanted the design to give you a feel of familiarity.  It CAN be extreme, but it has to be recognizable as something that tugs at your heart strings whether you realize it or not.  Too far of a shift to the novel and you loose your audience. 

Now the bus is a different story, this is new, yet familiar.  It has an air of fun and, can you even say sex appeal anymore?  Something about it draws me in and I want to learn more.  I am eager to see how it drives, even if I cannot explain why.

As to your business plan to have your dream made, that follows what my father had intended in the 90s and 2000s fairly well.  He wanted to release a limited edition super car that then was used to fund the every-man’s car.  I will share it on the DeLorean Legacy page soon, I am working hard to get everything up and it is taking some time, but it will all be there.

Thank you again for this opportunity, it was truly incredible!

Kat DeLorean

Thank you Kat!

Thank you so very much Kathryn, from all of us, and good luck with your new endeavors! Your father will be proud!