Scandalous would be the best way to describe the DeLorean Motor Company, whereas the DeLorean is rightfully considered a flawed icon. The first example rolled off the assembly line in 1981, and production came to a grinding halt in 1982 with fewer than 9,000 cars made.
Back when Mercedes-AMG wasn’t even a thing, Mercedes-Benz used to supply McLaren with a high-revving V10 engine that helped Mika Hakkinen secure two drivers’ championships. This collaboration is how the SLR McLaren came to be, a grand tourer based on the R230 SL 55 AMG.
Codenamed W201, the precursor to the Mercedes-Benz C-Class line of compact executive sedans entered production in 1982 after eight years of research and development to the tune of two billion German marks. That’s more than two billion dollars in today’s money, which explains the brand’s industry-leading build quality and reliability during that bygone epoch.