A replica of the Delorean time machine from the movie Back to the Future is up for sale.

A replica of the DeLorean time machine from "Back to the Future" has been auctioned for charity, with proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease Research, founded by the lead actor who suffers from the disease.

This is not the original car from the film, but is equipped with the "Flux Capacitor" used on screen. According to the exhibitor, the car's flux capacitor was used in all three "Back to the Future" films as a stunt car. Like the films, this car can be remotely controlled.

Aside from other "Back to the Future" paraphernalia, such as the huge vents on the back and the "time circuits" in the cockpit, the DeLorean seems mechanically normal. That is, a 2.8-liter V-6 sits behind the driver (and flux capacitor), connected to a three-speed automatic transmission.

The DeLorean DMC-12 was the brainchild of John Z. DeLorean, a former General Motors executive who, after a successful career at GM that included the launch of the Pontiac GTO, decided to start his own car company. DeLorean was initially impressed by its gullwing doors and stainless steel body panels, but the car was a financial failure.

By the time the DMC-12 starred in Back to the Future, the DeLorean Motor Company was already history. However, the film and its two sequels established the DMC-12 in popular culture. The original plan was for the time machine to be a refrigerator. The revived Delorean Motor Company plans to produce a limited number of new cars, some of which may also be replicas of the time machine.

The auction site estimates the value of the replica at $500,000, which seems a bit high considering that the original movie car sold for $541,000 at a 2011 charity auction. The auction, which also includes other "Back to the Future" memorabilia, will end on April 15.