- The first Vector W8 Twin Turbo has surfaced
- The car’s for sale and bears a Chase #001 build plate
- Jerry Wiegert, founder and CEO of Vector Aeromotive died in 2021
Bring a Trailer is auctioning off the first 1990 Vector W8 Twin Turbo, a genuine American supercar from the ill-fated Vector Aeromotive company.
Vector was the brainchild of the late Jerry Wiegert, an inventor who claimed to have come up with the original ideas for the four-wheeled ATV and Jet Ski. Dreaming of an American supercar that could compete with the European brands, Wiegert showed the first Vector concept in 1972. However, it took nearly two decades to raise the necessary funds to start building the first production model, the W8.
The car up for auction—chassis #001—is one of 17 W8s (plus two prototypes) built by Vector at its Wilmington, California, facility over the course of three years. The car is built around a bonded and riveted aluminum semi-monocoque chassis, with bodywork made from a mix of Kevlar, fiberglass, and other composite materials.
1990 Vector W8 Twin Turbo chassis #001
The W8 is powered by an aluminum 6.0-liter V-8 that, as the car’s name states, has twin turbochargers. The transverse mid-mounted engine was estimated to make 625 hp and 630 lb-ft of torque in a period Road & Track test. That power is sent to the rear wheels via a 3-speed automatic transaxle.
Vector W8 chassis #001 was originally sold to a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family, on whose behalf it was collected directly from the 1990 New York auto show, according to Bring a Trailer. It spent a few years in Switzerland before being moved to Los Angeles, where it was purchased by the current owner in 1999. It was then moved to Arizona and finally Michigan.
The car currently wears reproduction 17-inch wheels said to be made by former Vector vice president of engineering David Kostka in the style of the factory 16-inch wheels (which are also included in the sale). The original digital instrument cluster has become pixelated, but a replacement is included. The malfunctioning cluster means the odometer is unreadable, but the seller estimates 1,700 miles under current ownership.
1990 Vector W8 Twin Turbo chassis #001
As for Vector, the company entered receivership in 1993 and was taken over by Indonesian firm MegaTech, which had also bought Lamborghini and used the Italian automaker’s 5.7-liter V-12 in the new Vector M12. Wiegert was no longer involved at that point.
Vector planned at least three more supercars to follow the initial M12 coupe, including an M12 targa, a front-engine 2+2 hardtop convertible, and an El Camino-like lifestyle vehicle. They never made it off the drawing board, though. Vector only built a handful of M12s before running out of money and eventually shutting down for good.
