For those of a certain age, there could be nothing cooler than Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) and his time-travelling trips taken in a modified DeLorean which used plutonium (or at a pinch, a lightning bolt) to skip through the years.

But what happened to the DeLoreans used in the films? Of the seven used only three survive, and only one of these is in private hands.

Now it seems that this is set to change hands, as an auction is touted by the end of the year, with some of the proceeds slated for Parkinson's charities in honour of Michael J Fox. This is big news, as the scientifically-pimped car is one of the most covetable pieces of movie memorabilia in existence. In fact, it is probably one of the most famous cars in the world.

An estimate of $400,000-600,000 has been suggested, but this is towards the lower end of what it is likely to achieve. In November 2010 a mere replica rolled to $112,920.

In general Back to the Future memorabilia is valuable with a final price of $88,720 reached at the same auction for Marty's incredible shrinking jacket, which he puts on to blend in with those crazy, futuristic 2015 teenagers. Likewise, some self-lacing trainers brought $16,450.

The movie DeLorean runs on a Volkswagen engine (not a Volvo engine as most DeLoreans do - the alternative engine allows more props to fit in) and drives just fine, though whether it's street-legal is another matter.

But who wants to drive down the street anyway? As Doc himself put it, "Roads?! Where we're going, we don't need roads."