DeLorean
DMC-12 Legend Industries Twin Turbo prototype

Why it matters

The car shows the factory-contracted twin-turbo development that might have given the DMC-12 more performance. It was the only factory Twin Turbo car built before the company collapsed.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

DeLorean contracted Legend Industries of Long Island to develop a twin-turbo engine; it was introduced at the NADA show in Los Angeles in February 1981. Car #00502 left the Irish assembly line in April 1981 and was shipped to Legend, where the engine was installed in May 1981 and road testing began. John DeLorean ordered 5,000 engines to be offered at $7,500, with production expected in 1982, but this never happened.

The car was sold in the Legend Industries bankruptcy sale in 1983 and acquired by its present owner in 1984; Road & Track tested it in December 1984. It is in a private collection.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

Identified by its build number #00502; the page gives no VIN. A search-result summary describes the Legend contract as covering four prototypes (two single- and two twin-turbo), which was not verified on a fetched page.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   What could have been: #00502 factory Twin Turbo Level B

   • 1 factory Twin Turbo DeLorean (prototype #00502) described as the only one produced

   Accessed 2026-11-12
2. 2
   What could have been: #00502 factory Twin Turbo Level B DeLorean Directory

   • 0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds
   • quarter mile in 14.7 seconds

   Accessed 2026-11-12