Vector W8

In short

• Built 1989–1993 (model years 1990–1993) in Wilmington, Los Angeles; 17 customer cars plus two pre-production cars.
• 6.0-litre aluminium twin-turbo V8 prepared by John Rodeck: 466 kW (625 hp) at 5,700 rpm and 880 Nm at 4,900 rpm on 8 psi of boost.
• Carbon-fibre and Kevlar body on an aluminium honeycomb monocoque with about 5,000 aircraft rivets; estimated kerb weight 1,506 kg.
• Vector claimed 389 km/h (242 mph) and 0–60 mph in 3.9 s; Road & Track measured 4.2 s.

Vector W8 at a glance

Development and production history

The W8 was the production version of the W2 shown in 1976 and run as a prototype from 1979. A world economic downturn and a lack of money delayed it for years. By the late 1980s Wiegert had found the funding, and Vector grew from one building and four employees to four buildings and 80 employees. The design drew on the Alfa Romeo Carabo and on fighter-jet styling, and Vector called its methods "Aeromotive Engineering".

Before production the car passed US Department of Transportation crash tests in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and emissions tests. Several details changed on the way to production:

• some of the body gills were removed;
• the front fascia was lowered and gained an air splitter;
• the rear wing, mirror intakes and grille were revised;
• the removable glass roof was dropped after top-speed tests showed buffeting at high speed.

Emissions delays stopped production for a time and forced Vector to lay off 50 of its 80 staff. The car passed its emissions test in mid-1991, and Vector began building the 30 cars on order.

Design and engineering

Vector used aerospace materials throughout. The body panels are carbon fibre and Kevlar, bonded to a semi-aluminium monocoque that is both epoxy-bonded and riveted, with an aluminium honeycomb floor pan. The structure uses about 5,000 aircraft-specification rivets. Its drag coefficient is given as 0.32, a figure English Wikipedia marks as needing a citation.

To save weight, Vector left out power steering and anti-lock brakes. The cabin was not spartan, though: it had leather and suede, wool carpets, electrically adjustable Recaro seats and air conditioning.

Engine and drivetrain

The 6.0-litre (365 cu in) aluminium V8 was prepared by John Rodeck and could be re-sleeved. It used TRW forged pistons, Carrillo stainless-steel connecting rods and dry-sump lubrication, and breathed through two intercooled Garrett turbochargers. Vector advertised 466 kW (625 hp) at 5,700 rpm and 880 Nm (649 lb-ft) at 4,900 rpm on 8 psi of boost. The driver could raise the boost from 8 to 14 psi, and factory dyno testing at 14 psi recorded 895 kW (1,200 bhp).

The power went through a heavily modified GM Turbo-Hydramatic 425, a three-speed automatic from the Oldsmobile Toronado. With 466 kW and an estimated 1,506 kg, the W8 has about 309 kW per tonne. The power-to-weight calculator compares that with later supercars.

Vector W8 performance: claims and tests

Road & Track's review was positive. It praised almost every part of the car and said the skidpad figure was the highest it had recorded for a car not built for racing. Car and Driver could not finish its tests because each of the three cars it received broke down in a different way. In 2017 the magazine called the W8 "vaporware".

The Andre Agassi car

In 1991 the tennis player Andre Agassi bought a W8. He insisted on taking delivery before the car was fully ready; at that point only four cars had been completed before approval. Vector agreed on condition that the car stay in storage until its emissions had been set up for road use. Agassi returned it for a refund after the rear carpet burned from an overheating exhaust.

Variants and derivatives

The Avtech WX-3 coupé appeared at the 1992 Geneva show and the WX-3R roadster followed in 1993, but neither reached production.

Megatech, the M12 and the end

When the WX-3 appeared in 1993, Megatech, an Indonesian company, took control of Vector, and Wiegert was later fired. W8 production ended. Wiegert sued and won back the design copyrights, the equipment and the unsold cars. In 1995 Megatech began building the M12 in Florida, based on the Lamborghini Diablo and loosely on the WX-3. It cost US$189,000, and by early 1999 only 14 had been made. The Diablo itself is covered in our article on the Lamborghini Diablo.

Wiegert came back with the WX-8 prototype at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show. Vector projected 1,380 kW (1,850 hp) from a supercharged 10-litre V8, 275 mph and 0–60 mph in just under three seconds; in August 2018 it was still said to be in development. The Wilmington site and warehouse have since been cleared.

Collecting today

With 17 customer cars, every W8 is known by its history, and the sources record no auction prices. What matters for a buyer follows from the story above: whether a car is one of the customer cars or a pre-production car, how its emissions and boost were set up, and whether it carries the production changes, such as the lower front fascia and fixed roof. Other American and European wedges of the period are in our supercars section, and the rest of the brand is in the Vector catalogue.

Photo gallery