IT was the vehicle made famous by Michael J Fox in the Back to the Future films - and now one of the finest examples of the legendary sports car is set to go under the auctioneer’s hammer.

The 1981 DeLorean DMC12 Coup� in question is owned by Miranda Guinness, Countess of Iveagh, who lives in Wiltshire but whose family seat is in Suffolk.

Her car is to be sold by Bonhams as part of the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 2.

Auctioneers expect the vehicle, which has been on long-term display at the Robert Guinness Steam Museum in Dublin and the Irish Museum of Transport, to fetch between �15,000 and �20,000.

A Bonhams spokeswoman said: “Miranda Guinness, Countess of Iveagh, married Arthur Francis Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of Iveagh, in 1963.

“The family seat, currently home to their son Arthur Edward Rory Guinness, 4th Earl of Iveagh, is Elveden Hall in Suffolk.”

The DeLorean was the brainchild of ex-General Motors executive John Zachary DeLorean, and the sports car project found a home in Northern Ireland following a grant from the British government.

Under the helm of ex-Pontiac designer, Bill Collins, the car attracted much attention for its stylish coup� body and doors that opened in a ‘gull-wing’ fashion.

The highly anticipated DeLorean, which finally arrived in 1980, quickly ran into quality control problems that were never recovered, in part due to the creator’s indictment on drug charges in 1982.

The high point for the DeLorean car was its starring role in director Steven Spielberg’s Back to the Future trilogy.

This left-hand drive example of the car has only 19,400 miles on the clock and has been maintained to the highest standard. Miranda Guinness has been the only owner of the car.