The story goes that in the old days of racing at Le Mans, at the start drivers would sprint across the track to their cars positioned along a wall. They would jump in, start the car, and drive off. Safety concerns eventually eliminated the "Le Mans" start.
But Porsche supposedly positioned the ignition switch on the left hand side, so that the driver could hurdle into the car, start the car with the left hand, while engaging the shifter with his right hand, thus saving precious seconds. An important consideration in a 24 hour endurance race, LOL!
Delorean, ever the admirer of european sports cars, likely specified the left hand positioning of the ignition switch for the '64 A body to copy Porsche. I would claim Ferrari, but I do not know if Ferrari also employed the left hand positioning. Given the use of the name Lemans for the sporty model of Pontiac's A body line-up, it made some sense that Delorean added this touch in '64.
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