Author offers 1981 DeLorean to reader who beats his video-game challenge

Marty McFly wannabes, this genius marketing idea is targeted at you.

During Ernest Cline's book tour for his "'80s-obsessed" 2011 bestselling novel Ready Player One, he traveled from event to event in the most appropriate vehicle he could find: a 1982 DeLorean DMC-12, complete with a KITT-style grille light and Back to the Future flux capacitor.

To promote the paperback release of the same book, Cline is offering one reader a DeLorean of their own — this 1981 model with, yes, its own flux capacitor.

"To celebrate the release of the Ready Player One trade paperback, I'm holding a contest inspired by the plot of my novel. I've hidden an "Easter egg" in the text of both the hardcover and paperback editions of Ready Player One. If readers can find this hidden clue, it will lead them to the first of three increasingly difficult video game challenges. The first video game challenge is an Atari 2600 game that contains another Easter Egg that will lead you to the Second Challenge. Completing the Second Challenge will lead you to the Third and Final Challenge," Cline wrote on his blog.

"I would be a boldfaced liar if I said the Easter egg was easy to find," Cline admitted, acknowledging that in the 10 months since the hardcover's release, no one has discovered the Easter egg.

Good luck, readers.