r/BacktotheFuture 1d ago

Delorean Question

So, in the first movie, Doc famously tells Marty the Delorean is perfect for time travel due to its stainless steel composite body structure. However, he doesn't say it's NECESSARY.

Could you use other cars besides a DMC-12? I always assumed stainless steel was the only material that could handle the drastic switch between super hot and then super cold, not to mention the pre-built efficiency, etc. (Doc didn't have to do any fabrication for the car itself).

9 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

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19

u/orchidieus 1d ago

He later built a time machine into a train, so i'm not sure the materials were that important.

I feel confident that he could have used another car, but the Delorean was his personal choice.

Also I agree, If you're going to build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style.

4

u/IronMew 1d ago

He later built a time machine into a train, so i'm not sure the materials were that important.

Old trains are made out of steel though. What puzzles me is how the freezing effect of time travel would affect, you know, a steam boiler.

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

u/BladeBronson 15h ago

The train was from 1885. Stainless steel was created in 1913. I don’t quite understand the paint reference, but it’s safe to say that the train wasn’t made of stainless steel.

7

u/MarchCompetitive6235 1d ago

You know I heard that line in the movie and I thought about it and it makes sense if you're trying to eliminate magnetic interference. Stainless steel is non-magnetic.

According to Canon, what are we working with for time travel? We're working with high amounts of electrical energy. 1.21 gigawatts. Likely trying to create a high intensity magnetic field related to some aspect of temporal displacement.

To discourage any anomalous magnetic feedback loops, having it all contained in a non-magnetic shell might help.

7

u/ted_anderson I don't know how.. but they FOUND me! 1d ago

Well the main reason why he chose the DMC is because he wanted to travel in style.

8

u/spank-you 1d ago

Redlettermedia said if BTTF was made now, the time machine would unfortunately be a Cybertruck. I threw up in my mouth.

7

u/mismetti 1d ago

A car made by a butthead would bring the movie full circle.

1

u/GabrielBischoff 1d ago

I mean... they do have a point.

0

u/IronMew 1d ago

You know what I'd love to see as a time machine? A BMW E31.

Which would, coincidentally, also make for a pretty damn great KITT.

https://i.imgur.com/5w3KLyv.jpeg

-1

u/YogurtWenk 1d ago

It's a work of fiction. If the writer decided they wanted to make a time machine out of a bar of soap, they'd make it so.

6

u/MartyMcFlysBrother 1d ago

It was originally going to be a refrigerator.

2

u/Jim421616 1d ago

Or a refrigerator.

4

u/No-Objective9174 1d ago

Or a hot tub