The founder of the illustrious Vector, Gerald ‘Jerry’ Wiegert, has passed away. He was the mastermind behind the extraordinary and absurdly fast cars that Vector produced.
The American engineer Gerald Wiegert founded his own car brand in the 1970s with the aim of pushing the boundaries of what was possible at the time. Vector’s firstborn was Vector W2, unveiled in the late 1970s. A hypercar of its time; clean lines, a wedge-shaped body and gull-wing doors. It was the prelude to the Vector W8, the final production version of the W2. Incidentally, the W2 was a concept car that did more than just attract attention with its lines. The W2, powered by a 600 hp V8, covered more than 160,000 test kilometers and, according to Wiegert, was able to reach a top speed of 370 km / h.
Vector W8
Although that claim could never be confirmed by independent parties, the W8 kept its promises. The further development of the W2, which came about at the end of the 1980s, did appear on the market. Built mainly from carbon fiber, Vector spooned another V8, which in this case had 6.0-liter displacement and kicked it up to 660 horsepower. All this at a weight of less than 1.5 tons. With a kind of ‘overboost’ function you could call up up to 1,200 hp thanks to a higher turbo pressure. All in all, the W8 had enough to sprint to 100 km / h in 4.4 seconds and according to its creators, the top speed should exceed 400 km / h. In the end, Vector built 17 W8s, which sold for roughly half a million dollars in their day.
Vector WX3
After the W8, in the early 1990s, unfortunately, it remained with a few prototypes of the W8 successor, the WX-3. That didn’t lead to any further Vectors for sale, but with promised power ratings of up to 1,200 hp, Vector managed to attract attention. Also from Megatech, a company that eventually took over Vector and brought the Vector M12 in collaboration with Lamborghini. A car with the beating heart of the Lamborghini Diablo. However, Vector was thrown off the bill when Megatech sold the Lamborghini, which they also owned, to Audi and Vector became independent again. Only 17 M12s were built and Vector had to fend for itself again. That did not go well, because an SRV8-baptized further development of the M12 did not go beyond the prototype phase and Vector almost ceased to exist.
Vector M12
Gerald Wiegert, who had already been put out of the brand he founded at the time of Megatech, then came back into the picture and decided to buy up the remains of Vector. In 2007 it led to Vector’s first serious revival with the WX-8. A special hypercar with Toyota Supra headlights and a whopping 10.0-liter and 1,850 hp V8. Really absurd figures, which according to Wiegert made a top speed of 450 km / h possible.
Vector WX8
However, it remained ‘promising’, because again there was no possibility to experience it in real life. Until 2018 it remained quiet around Vector and the WX-8. In that year, Vector showed a sketch of a new car (photo 6) that would build on that WX-8. A car with a 7.0-liter turbo V8 or the aforementioned 10.0-liter V8 with two turbochargers. According to our American namesake Techzle The now 76-year-old Wiegert worked on this until recently, but unfortunately he was unable to complete his work. He passed away last Friday. We are eagerly awaiting whether his latest creation will ever hit the road again.