Crash test videos are some of my favorite things in the world, and it’s rare that I come across one I haven’t seen before, but the other day I came across a few vintage crash tests and I fully went down a rabbit hole. The full-overlap front crash test has been around for a long time, and it’s one of the easiest crash scenarios to engineer a car for when compared to partial overlap and side crash tests. Seeing these DeLoreans slam head on into a wall at 35 and 40 miles per hour doesn’t make it seem like a very easy crash test, though.
These crash tests were performed to analyze performance of retrofitted airbags on a production vehicle, and were performed at Dynamic Science in Phoenix, Arizona in 1981. DMC DeLoreans were never sold with factory airbags, but DMC donated two early prototypes to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for these airbag crash tests. In the 35 mph crash test, the DeLorean holds up relatively well despite some deformation of the doors, but the 40 mph test shows much more drastic results.
Upping the speed of impact by just five miles per hour took a crash that looked easily survivable and turned it into an alarming exercise in how to snap a chassis. Though these tests were meant to test the efficacy of retrofitting airbags, the carnage can’t be ignored. In the 40 mph test, when the car hits the barrier the driver’s side door latch fails which causes the rest of the structure to take more of the impact forces. Once the driver’s door pops open, the DeLorean’s chassis seems to buckle behind the driver but ahead of the rear-mounted engine causing some violent dummy movement. The driver would have a likely have a slim chance of walking away from this crash.
Seeing crash tests like this makes me grateful for modern safety features that can help avoid a crash all together, and for advancements in modern structural safety. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has foregone the full-overlap crash test since all modern cars ace it. In fact, the IIHS has continuously had to make its crash tests more difficult as automotive engineers have quickly designed cars safe enough to ace once-challenging crash tests. If you own a DeLorean, try to avoid stuffing it into a wall at 40 mph.
