Past and future collide at vintage car festival with DeLorean DMC12

Marty McFly traveled back in time in a DeLorean in the ’80s movie Back to the Future, and now you kind of do too.

It will certainly feel like Taranaki has taken a step back in time later this month, when more than 500 vintage cars take to the highways and roads of Taranaki for the 2022 Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring.

Organized by the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (VCC), the event will feature a wide variety of vehicles all over 30 years old, including a DeLorean DMC 12 but without a flux capacitor.

Owned and restored by Jared Dacombe of Nelson, the DeLorean is truly a teenage dream come true.

Jared was only 13 when he first watched the movie in which Doc Brown turned a DeLorean into a time machine, and it made a lasting impression. Ever since he first saw the movie, Jared knew he wanted to have his own DeLorean one day.

Fast forward to a few years later (time flies slowly with no plutonium or lightning) and that dream came true when Jared saw a DeLorean DMC 12 for sale on Facebook.

The car wasn’t running and was going to take a lot of work to get there, but Jared, now an automotive engineer, was determined. Selling his Mazda MX5 to finance the purchase, he began the restoration process.

The car is now fully restored to its former glory and should catch the eye of film buffs and car enthusiasts as it drives through Taranaki during the Vero International Festival of Motoring.

The details:
What: Vero International Automobile Festival
When: January 16-21
Where: Anywhere in Taranaki
Plus: Inglewood Street Party – the best chance to see all the cars up close. Thursday January 20, 4-8 p.m., Inglewood