Years before the Back to the Future movie franchise, here’s how the DeLorean was originally presented to the car-buying public.

Pop culture is a powerful but fickle force. The DeLorean, the star-crossed sports car created by John Z. DeLorean, is more famous today than it ever was back in 1981-82, when it was actually (and briefly) offered to the public. Thanks to Hollywood and the Back to the Future movie franchise, the DeLorean is now known the world over. Currently there are not one but two electric vehicle startups, DeLorean Motor Company and DeLorean Next Generation Motors, each planning to produce a glamorous EV based on the DeLorean name.

In reality, things didn’t go that well for the DeLorean the first time around. First proposed in 1976 as a safety sports car with a price of $12,000, the stainless-steel coupe arrived in 1981 at twice the original price and plagued with quality and production problems. Its gullwing doors, bare metal skin, and sensational styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro generated a tremendous buzz, but the car soon proved to be underpowered and underdeveloped.

As the buzz turned to grumbles, unsold DeLoreans began to pile up at the factory in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, and the company filed for receivership in February of 1982. Then followed a bizarre cocaine trafficking trial for John DeLorean in which he was ultimately acquitted, though the company was already finished. But when this 1981 commercial was produced, all that was in the future. “Live the dream,” the announcer invites us. Video below.