The Remarkable Story Of Vector Motors And A Chance To Own Not One, But Four Cars!

If I were to ask you what the greatest American-made supercar is, what would your answer be? The Corvette? The Viper? The Saleen S7 perhaps? Very likely, but I bet a few of you will immediately think of Gerald Wiegert and his Vector cars. Although it wasn’t meant to be for various reasons, you can’t ignore the fact it had all the potential to become a rival to Lamborghini and the like. Vector started in the late 1970s, muddled along through the 1980s and eventually burst like a bubble in the 1990s. Despite all this, Vector Motors still gets people excited, and now there’s a chance to grab up what’s essentially a Vector-greatest hits (or failures, if you will) collection. During this year’s Monterey Car Week, RM Sotheby’s is auctioning four cars, from an early W8 Twin Turbo to one of the latest M12s.

a relentless pursuit

The story of Vector Motors starts in the 1970s, with automotive engineer and businessman Gerald (or Jerry) Alden Wiegert. Almost immediately after graduating from college, he started work on his dream; The Vector. By 1978 he founded the Vectors Motor Corporation, with the intent to put the Vector into production as an all-American sports/supercar. The Vector was aimed squarely at Europe’s finest; Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche. The Vector was initially intended to use a Wankel rotary engine, but even an engine from Porsche was considered. In 1976, so two years prior to setting up the Vector car company, a concept prototype was shown at the LA Auto Show. by 1978, the updated Vector W2 appeared as a non-running prototype, but a working and driving car was shown to the public a year later.

The W2 showcased Vector’s (and thus Wiegert’s) vision of the all-American-made supercar; an edgy design with scissor doors and a powerful 5.7 litre Chevrolet V8 in the back. With over 600 horsepower on tap, the top speed was said to be 242mph (389kph) although it was never tested and confirmed. The W2 never entered production but evolved into the W8, which did. Financed by money coming in from various lawsuits Wiegert filed (and won), and finding a high-profile celebrity client in tennis pro Andre Agassi, things looked promising for Vector and the W8. It wasn’t meant to be though, as Agassi pushed Vector to have the car delivered to him before it was fully developed and tested. Then, against Vector’s advice, Agassi drove the car before and was livid when it broke down. Vector bought back the car and finished it as intended, but by then the press was already smelling blood. According to sources, between 17 and 22 cars were built in just three years. The W8 was fitted with the same twin-turbo V8 as the W2, with similar performance figures.

Despite multiple setbacks, Wiegert soldiered on and started development of the next car, the WX-3. This was shown to the public in 1992, with a roadster following in 1993. The cars were fitted with an updated version of the twin-turbo Chevy V8, which at high-boost levels could hit 1,200 horsepower. During this time investor MegaTech forcefully took control of the company and fired Wiegert. Due to the dispute between Wiegert and MegaTech, the WX-3 never went beyond the prototype stage. With Wiegert out of the picture, at least for the time being, MegaTech began the development of an entirely new Vector car. The M12 had an updated design and a new engine (coming from Lamborghini no less, then owned by MegaTech too). The reception by the press was horrendous, with multiple publications basically calling it a piece of crap. Shortly thereafter, Vector (or Avtech as it was then called) closed its doors.

Not deterred by all of this, Wiegert retook all the company’s assets and it was rumoured he started work on a new car. Despite displaying a prototype at the LA Auto Show in 2007, nothing ever came of it. Gerald Wiegert passed away in 2021 at the age of 76. During his endeavours, in and out of ownership of the company, about 50 Vector cars have been built. And despite receiving a bad reputation over the years, Vector has gained a cult-like status and is one of the most prolific “what if…” companies. It showed tons of potential but was facing troubles from very early one. Troubles it sadly never managed to overcome.

The Turbollection

Vector cars occasionally pop up for sale or auction, and during this year’s Monterey Car Week, RM Sotheby’s is offering not one, but four up for auction. All cars are part of the Turbollection, which is a privately owned collection of some of the most fascinating supercars from the 1980s and 1990s. Next to the quartet of Vector cars, there’s also a chance to get your hands on a 1985 pre-series Porsche 959, a 1991 Isdera Imperator 108i, a 1993 Bugatti EB110 SS Prototype, and a 1993 Cizeta V16T.

In chronological order, RM Sotheby’s is selling a 1991 Vector W8 Twin Turbo, the 1993 Vector WX-3 and WX-3R Roadster prototypes and a 1996 Vector M12. That would pretty much be the start, middle and swansong for Vector, as it captures all three eras of the troubled company. All appear to be in pretty good condition and have been serviced and restored when needed over the years.

The purple-coloured 1991 Vector W8 Twin Turbo (see above) is the car that pretty much debuted the edgy design envisioned by Wiegert, It has a sharp wedge-like front section with built-in headlights. The profile reveals a sharp line running from nose to tail, with scissor doors, various air intakes and a fixed-wing around the back. The double horizontal slats for the tail lights are pure 1980s car design nostalgia! The interior is finished in black leather from top to bottom. A cool little touch is a digital screen in the dashboard with a silhouette of the car showing when the doors are opened. The rear section hides a transversely mounted 6.0 litre twin-turbo  V8 pumping out 600 horsepower. Back in 1991, this car was sold to a client for USD 189,000 but now it has an estimate of USD 800,000 to USD 1 million.

The pair of Vector WX-3s, both the coupe and the roadster, are prototype cars and true one-offs. They were under the ownership of Gerald Wiegert until 2019 and have run less than 3,000 miles. The design for both shows a still very wedge-like design but softened a touch compared to the W2 and W8 that came before them. The cars are fitted with pop-up headlights, scissor doors and leather interiors.

In the back of the purple WX-3R Roadster, there’s the original 6.0 litre twin-turbo V8 making about 625 horsepower. Its teal-green sibling though, has a 7.0-litre twin-turbo engine but with the high-boost upgrades, and thus makes around 1,000 horsepower. Both cars were extensively restored, mechanically at least according to records, between 2019 and 2021. RM Sotheby’s puts them up for auction with estimates of USD 1.3 million to USD 1.5 million each.

The final car up for auction is the Vector M12 from 1996 (see below), so technically a car that Wiegert was not involved with as the company was under full control of MegaTech at the time. The exterior of the car follows the design ethos of the ones before it, but again with smoother, softer lines. The larger V12 in the back, now longitudinally mounted instead of transversally mounted, pushed the cabin forward a bit more compared to the earlier designs.

Gone are the pop-up headlights of the WX-3, but the scissor doors have remained, as well as the large air intakes and the fixed wing on the back. The engine comes from Lamborghini and produces around 500 horsepower. Of the 14 production cars that were built, this is No. 5 and it’s the only one originally finished in this deep purple tone. It’s now up for grabs at an estimate of USD 400,000 to USD 600,000, making it the least expensive of the four.

This selection of highly intriguing and extremely rare cars is just incredible, and personally, I’ve always had a soft spot for Gerald Wiegert’s ill-fated Vector story. It would have been amazing to see the brand reach its full potential and become America’s first true supercar maker.

For more information, please visit RM-Sotheby’s.com.

Editorial Note: All images portrayed in this article are sourced from and used with permission of RM Sotheby’s unless stated otherwise.