Vector W8 History

The Vector W8 was the production realization of Jerry Wiegert's long campaign to build an American supercar to rival Ferrari and Lamborghini. Designed by Wiegert and refined by head of engineering David Kostka, it was the production version of the W2 prototype that Vector had demonstrated through the 1980s. The wedge-shaped body — carbon fiber and Kevlar panels bonded to an aluminum honeycomb monocoque — drew on aircraft construction, in keeping with Wiegert's aerospace obsession, and was claimed to achieve a 0.32 drag coefficient.

Power came from a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 driving through a modified GM three-speed automatic, with an advertised 625 hp at moderate boost and far more available — Vector quoted figures beyond 1,000 hp at maximum boost during testing. The cabin mixed an aircraft theme with extravagant pricing; the W8 was one of the most expensive and fastest cars money could buy at the start of the 1990s.

Only 22 cars were assembled in total — 17 sold to customers plus two pre-production examples — between 1989 and 1993. The W8 earned a measure of notoriety: in 1991 tennis star Andre Agassi returned his car after the exhaust scorched the interior, and a Car and Driver test saw all three supplied cars break down. Vector went into receivership in 1993, and control of the company soon passed, via a contentious takeover, to the Indonesian conglomerate Megatech.