Vector, super sports car in the sky with comet

After the doldrums of the 1970s, marked by two oil shocks and repeated economic crises, society had a respite in the 1980s, the horizon for the automotive industry cleared and the sky became blue again. Make way for a decade full of possibilities. Speed ​​and pleasure were encouraged. The market was witnessing the emergence of a new generation of GTIs, high-energy compact cars and exceptional GTs produced in limited series. Porsche wait Ferrari Leading the way are the 959 and 288 GTO, respectively. Jaguar, Bugatti, Cizeta and many other brands will follow. Americans want their supercars, too. Besides Chrysler, which gave birth to the Viper, another American decided to produce his own car. Gerald Alden Wiegert, more commonly known as Jerry, has maintained a keen interest in sports cars since his days as a consultant to the Big Three. RM Sotheby’s will sell four of his creations during the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance next August.

For Wiegert, the adventure began in the mid-1970s, when he created his first model, the Vector-branded W2, in a warehouse in the Venice district of Los Angeles. Powered by a twin-turbo V8 from GM’s organ library and mated to a 3-speed automatic transmission, the W2 was unveiled at the 1976 Los Angeles Auto Show. Three years later, the prototype went into production.

The supercar craze of the late 1980s revitalized Vector. Jerry Wiegert released the W8, a modernized version of the W2. The imposing lines were not very elegant, and could have come from the Sbarro studio. On the other hand, the technology was avant-garde. The W8 used cutting-edge materials. The body was made of carbon fiber and Kevlar. The Berlinette had some original features: a removable sunroof, an aviation-style interior ambience. Wiegert made no secret of his desire to design a “fighter on four wheels.” The interior resembled an airplane cockpit, with a computer screen, a gas compass and a Hobbs speedometer on the dashboard. Unlike Ferrari, which played the sporty card to the fullest with a minimalist interior, Vector chose refinement. The W8 was equipped with Recaro leather seats, air conditioning, and a state-of-the-art Sony hi-fi system at the time, with a 10-disc cassette and CD player. A total of 17 W8s were produced.

Inspired by the success of the W8, Vector was working on a new model. The Batmobile side was further emphasized when the Avtech WX-3 prototype was unveiled at the 1992 Geneva Motor Show. This berlinette had an imposing rear wing and an aerodynamic package that surrounded the body. As with the W8, the very raked windshield was an extension of the front hood. The engine was a 7-liter twin-turbo V8 from General Motors that produced up to 1,000 horsepower. The following year, Vector returned to the shores of Lake Geneva. In addition to the final version of the Berlinette, Vector also launched a roadster version. The listing price was $765,000. Neither model could excite the interest of wealthy customers. For Vector, this was the beginning of the end. Behind the scenes, Vector had to face a hostile takeover by the Indonesian government-backed company Megatech. The new company designed its last car in 1996, the M12, based on the Lamborghini Diablo. All that remains today from this failed venture are these scattered machines at auction, with the M12 estimated at $400,000 and the two WX-3s estimated at $1.5 million (the high end).