Although “Back to the Future,” secured the DeLorean DMC-12 a place in cinematic history, the filmmakers admitted it wasn’t always a cooperative star. “As cool as it looks on film, it’s by no means a performance car,” Gale told Esquire, adding, “It broke down a lot, and little things on the car would break during a scene, and we’d have to wait for the FX guys to repair it.”
The gull-wing doors on the DMC-12 ruined multiple takes during one exceptionally chilly night filming the lightning strike scene. The doors of the DMC-12 are supposed to remain up because of gas-filled cylinders, but the doors wouldn’t stay open in the frigid cold conditions. The crew resorted to warming the cylinders with hairdryers between takes to keep the doors open while filming.
Although Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd became friends over the years while filming the trilogy, Fox never expressed kind words about his other famous co-star. “I wish I had a video, a gag reel of how many times I was hit by that freakin’ door, the DeLorean door,” Fox told Nerdist, adding “Take after take, it would go, WHACK!” Despite not enjoying working with the DMC-12, Fox must have recognized they made a dynamic duo on-screen.