Surrounded by an electric current similar to a Tesla coil, the whole car vanishes in a flash of white/blue light seconds later, leaving a pair of fiery tire tracks.

[3] In the second film, the destination time display malfunctions and begins to show a series of random dates, causing Doc to be sent back to 1885 when the DeLorean is struck by lightning with him inside.

[5] The time machine is electric and requires a power input of 1.21 gigawatts (1,620,000 hp) to operate, originally provided by a plutonium-fueled nuclear reactor.

[3] During Doc's first visit to 2015, he has the machine refitted to fly in addition to standard road driving, and he replaces the nuclear reactor with a Mr. Fusion generator that uses garbage as fuel.

For the extra power needed to push it up to speed, Doc adds his own version of "Presto Logs" (a chemically treated mixture of pressed wood and anthracite) to the locomotive's boiler and chooses a location with a straight section of track long enough to achieve 88 mph.

The flux capacitor, which consists of a rectangular-shaped compartment with three flashing Geissler-style tubes arranged in a "Y" configuration, is described by Doc as "what makes time travel possible".

Doctor Emmet Brown originally conceived the idea for the flux capacitor on November 5, 1955, when he slipped on the edge of his toilet while hanging a clock in his bathroom and hit his head on the sink.

Doc demonstrated its capabilities to Marty after its first test, giving two well-known but erroneous dates as examples: the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776; and the birth of Christ, December 25, 0000.

The energy produced by Mr. Fusion replaces plutonium as the primary power source of the DeLorean's time travel, allowing the characters to bypass the arduous power-generation requirements upon which the plot of the first film hinges.

This limitation proved crucial in the third movie when Doc and Marty find themselves stuck in 1885 and unable to drive the DeLorean due to a punctured fuel line.

However, the flight systems are destroyed as a result of the lightning strike that occurs at the end of the second film, leaving Marty to rely on the original combustion engine, which is also disabled.

In the third film, after Marty and 1955 Doc recovered the DeLorean from the mines, a vacuum tube circuit was installed on the front hood to restore its time traveling ability.

Once in 1885, the DeLorean had one final set of modifications: the tires were again replaced with train wheels and a temperature gauge was attached to the boiler of the stolen locomotive and mounted on the dashboard.

[4][5] After acquiring the DeLorean and modifying it into a time machine, Doc brings it to the Twin Pines Mall and tests it out by using a remote control to send it one minute into the future with his dog Einstein in it.

[non-primary source needed] After returning Marty home, Doc travels with Einstein to October 21, 2015, where he upgrades the DeLorean with 2015 technology, replacing the plutonium chamber with a Mr. Fusion Reactor, and giving it the ability to fly.

Doc states he is happy in his new life there as a blacksmith, and requests that Marty not attempt to retrieve him, but instead to return to 1985 and destroy the DeLorean, believing that it has brought them and the world nothing but disaster.

They learn that for the locomotive to reach 88 mph, the run would have to be on a flat, straight track with no cars coupled behind it and with the boiler's temperature risen to dangerous levels.

[non-primary source needed] Doc and Marty plan to make their run on a flat, straight section of track leading to an unfinished bridge over Shonash Ravine.

Marty and Doc continue their plan, in which the Mr. Fusion unit will provide the power required to activate the flux capacitor and make the jump through time once the stolen locomotive and the DeLorean reach 88 mph.

Later, Doc, Clara, and their children: Jules and Verne, appear in the same location where the DeLorean was destroyed, piloting a new time machine in the form of a steam-powered train.

The original DeLorean made a brief appearance in Marty Mcfly's nightmare where Doc sends it one minute into the future, which copies the events of the first film.

The Clone DeLorean is later restored by an alternate version of Doc Brown (who took six months to repair it) who has never developed time travel technology, having access to limited notes about the flux capacitor.

[16] It is implied that the Time Train stays with Clara, Jules, and Verne, passingly mentioned as enjoying the same nomadic life around the time-stream of Doc, but it is never seen in the game.

[non-primary source needed] The short film Doc Brown Saves the World features a repaired DeLorean time machine that includes new replacement parts from 2015.

[non-primary source needed] Universal Studios special effects department built three main DeLorean time machines for the movie Back to the Future.

[21] Zemeckis suggested the DeLorean because it offered mobility, a unique design, and would appear like an alien UFO to a 1950s family[22][23][24][25][26] due to its characteristic gullwing doors (which were inspired by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL).

However, during the movie's filming, it went over budget and behind schedule, and Universal refused to grant the producers more money, as it couldn't afford the desert location to shoot such scenario.

[37] Fire emitting from the tires was intended to start the sequence but the gas jet mechanism repeatedly failed; it only functioned for two of the six shots required.

Fox and Lloyd were filmed against a reflective mylar blue screen set to match the parking lot's wet surface and composited into the trails of fire.

[45] The Spanish public broadcaster RTVE has an educational TV program focusing on history named El condensador de fluzo [es] ("The Flux Capacitor") after the film prop.