On a gullwing and a prayer? Get set for DeLorean EV

'Back to the Future' icon prepped for debut in San Antonio, Texas

(A native of England, Matthew Diebel is a veteran journalist who has worked at NBC News, Time, USA Today and News Corp., among other organizations. Having spent his childhood next to one of the world's fastest bodies of water, he is particularly interested in tidal energy.)

Trying to make a splash in the increasingly crowded EV game? Then you could probably do worse than go “back to the future” with an all-electric DeLorean, a new version of the Eighties icon that delighted many eyes with its looks and broke many hearts with its lack of reliability.

And that’s what’s happening in central Texas, where a group of entrepreneurs are collaborating with Stephen Wynne, who bought the DeLorean brand in the 1990s and has a small business supplying parts to the remaining cars’ crazy — sorry, enthusiastic — owners.

The new company, reports Bloomberg, is called DeLorean Motors Reimagined LLC and its chief executive officer is Joost de Vries, an alum of China-backed EV startup Karma Automotive, state business records and LinkedIn postings show. The firm will set up a headquarters and an engineering facility in San Antonio, with potential to bring 450 jobs, the city’s development arm said in a statement.

The possible relaunch of the gullwinged eye-popper, which bolstered its icon status with appearances in the “Back to the Future” movie series, was teased in a social media campaign and short Twitter video launched before last week’s Super Bowl, which, as we reported, featured several ads shilling EVs.

De Vries reportedly spent six years as vice president of sales at Karma, which had developed hybrid and electric vehicles in California, some based on models produced by the bankrupt Fisker Automotive. The new company’s chief marketing officer and vice president of engineering also hail from Karma.

“In an increasingly competitive electric vehicle market, San Antonio is ready to lead,” the city’s Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “By planning to establish their global headquarters in San Antonio, DeLorean is validating the talent, strategic preparation, and adaptability our region provides for EV manufacturers to thrive.”

That, and the fact that Tesla (TSLA) just moved its headquarters to its huge Gigafactory in neighboring Austin.