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Vector Motors Corporation was an American automobile manufacturer originally based in Wilmington, California. Its history can be traced to Vehicle Design Force, which was founded in 1978 by Jerry Wiegert."Vector Aeromotive Corporation - Corporate Backgrounder", The Vector Aeromotive Corporation, prepared by Kalmann Communications, 1990, contributed by the Vector Aeromotive Corporation Vehicle production by Vector Aeromotive began in 1989 and ceased in 1993. The company was later revived as Vector Motors Corporation, and has continued to develop sports cars. When founded, Vector represented United States first attempt to compete with European performance car manufacturers such as Ferrari and Lamborghini. Altogether around 50 Vector sports car models were developed and produced during the 1980s and 1990s including some racing versions mostly built using American made components.
Nearly every car produced by the company is designated the letter "W" (for Wiegert) and a number. A letter "X" after the W (e.g. WX-8) signifies a prototype unit.
In August 2018 it was reported that the company was still actively developing an entirely new vehicle, the WX-8, a vehicle positioned in the colloquially named "hypercar" category, which it first announced and presented a prototype model of back in 2007.
Founder, principal owner, chief executive, lead designer and engineer Jerry Wiegert died in January 2021 aged 76, leaving the fate of the company and corporate entity in question. The Wilmington facility along with the warehouse that stored materials and inventory has since been cleared out.
The W2 was extensively covered by many magazines, and it was thoroughly tested by Motor Trend magazine and the United Kingdom automotive television program Top Gear. However, Top Gear was ordered not to perform a top speed test on it, even though Vector claimed the car was capable of 230 mph.
One black W8 was pre-ordered by famous tennis player Andre Agassi. Since Vectors were hand built, each required significant time to finish, calibrate and test, but Agassi demanded that the company deliver his W8 before it was ready. Vector, another fantasy flop - Michael Sheehan. Vector complied, and company representatives told him that he could display it, but warned him not to drive it until the final work was completed. Agassi ignored this advice, and when the vehicle broke down, Wiegert and Vector Aeromotive refunded his US$455,000 purchase price; this resulted in negative publicity despite the circumstances. Afterwards, Agassi's W8 was finished and the car was resold. A total of 17 Vector W8 cars were built for public sale. The Vector W8 appeared in the 1993 film Rising Sun, driven by a Japanese businessman.
The new Vector Aeromotive Corporation created a car called the Vector M12, which was loosely based on the WX-3 but powered by a version of the Lamborghini Diablo V12 engine. Consequently, some work on the M12 was handled by Lamborghini. As such, many of the essentially American "spirit" characteristics of previous editions did not carry over to the M12.
Production of the M12 began in 1995 in Florida, and the car was introduced at the 1996 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, where Vector displayed two examples. Production was shuttered late in 1996 when the $189,000 cars did not meet projected sales targets. Production resumed after MegaTech sold off Lamborghini (to Audi) and Vector (to management). By early 1999, only 14 M12s were produced. Lamborghini did not fulfill its contracted delivery of motors due primarily to Vector's inability to pay for them. Tommy Suharto, son of then-Indonesian President Suharto and a MegaTech principal, was accused of Embezzlement from the company for his own personal gain. After Suharto’s rule ended in 1998, his children were prosecuted, and his youngest was convicted of corruption. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Suharto’s family repay millions in embezzled funds to the state. However, Suharto denied this, calling the embezzlement accusation “slander and defamation.” He died in 2008 without ever standing trial.
According to one story, Lamborghini took a W8 for payment for the engines, but since the W8 in question was still Wiegert's property at the time, he took the case to court. He won it back, although Lamborghini, now owned by Volkswagen, subsequently refused to give the car back.
Wiegert had the Avtech on display at the Rodeo Drive Concours d'Elegance on June 17, 2007. His business card for Vector Motors Corporation (Wilmington, CA) has him titled as "Chairman and CEO." He also announced plans to debut his new prototype at the 2008 LA Auto Show.
At the LA Auto Show, Wiegert presented a prototype of the WX8. The car is powered by a supercharged 10-litre all-aluminum V8 with a projected output of , which would make it more powerful than the Bugatti Veyron and the SSC Aero. Vector claims that the WX8 has a top speed of and a 0-60 time of just under three seconds.
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