Industrial Design Helps Aubie Get Back to the Future

Where do you go to get a DeLorean when you need to get back to the future? Since the “slightly mad” genius Dr. Emmett Brown wasn’t available, Dr. Corey Spurlin, Auburn University Marching Band Director, turned to the next best thing—industrial designers—to help Aubie time travel for the half time show at the Georgia game. They built a DeLorean custom fit to Aubie’s needs.

Robert Capps and David Cowan, industrial design’s fabricating geniuses, and Eythan Carter, a third-year student in the industrial design program and Auburn Marching Band member, spent two months creating a DeLorean on a golf cart chassis. They modified the DeLorean design so that Aubie could get in and out of it—complete with the DeLorean’s iconic gull-wing doors—and designed special pedals to fit his feet/paws.

“It’s been a fun project with a lot of long hours, but we enjoyed making Dr. Spurlin’s vision a reality,” said Capps, who is a 1994 graduate of Auburn’s industrial design program. “It’s been good for our students to watch us using the processes we teach them and then seeing the outcome. They realize that they have the ability to build anything they want. I just hope Dr. Spurlin doesn’t decide to do Jurassic Park next year or we’re going to need a bigger shop.”

Watch the “Aubie Goes Back to the Future” video here.