The Lakeland Motor Museum is celebrating the 40th birthday of one of its most iconic vehicles this week – the DMC DeLorean.

First rolling off the production line in America on January 21, 1981, the DeLorean became a favourite around the world thanks to its iconic status as the time machine in the Back to the Future movie trilogy.

Despite delighting fans of the car thanks to the gull-wing doors and its brushed stainless steel body, reviews have been generally unfavourable over the years, with Time magazine famously including the car in its list of the 50 worst cars of all time in 2017.

In the first of the Back to the Future movies, Michael J Fox’s character Marty McFly quipped, “You built a time machine… out of a DeLorean?”

Although with a commercial reputation widely known for its lack of power and performance, around 9,000 DeLoreans were sold over a three-year period in the early 1980s but they remain a rare sight on the roads today.

A New Zealand man made local headlines in 2020 after spending several years hunting for a DeLorean as a 50th birthday present to himself, having been inspired by a visit to the Lakeland Motor Museum several years ago.

Jennifer Cormack, sales and marketing director, said: “I can’t think of a better example of a car than the DeLorean, which has captured the imaginations of both the young and old over such a long period of time. It’s instantly recognisable and is a firm favourite for photo opportunities. When the time is right, we can’t wait to reopen again so even more people can take a look at what is clearly one of our most popular and influential exhibits."