Vector Aeromotive Corporation
stunning car, impressive most impressive
Those of us in SoCal were used to seeing Weigert at anything automotive in his jumpsuit pitching investors - Sometimes he'd pitch you could get on the buyers list for $1,000 with $100 monthly payments. Took him 11 years to produce his first car. They said he paid off early disgruntled investors with later investor funds. He lost the company the got it back.
The pix are the W8. By the time he started to build the W2 it was 10 years old and very outdated. The W8 would never live up to the promised performance with the drivetrain they installed.
In 1989, Wiegert's company, now known as the Vector Aeromotive Corporation, began production of the W8, an evolution of the W2. Financial backing came from public stock offerings and various lawsuits including suits against the Goodyear Tire Company (trademark infringement with the Vector brand of tires) and Vantage cigarettes. Two W8 prototypes were made, of which only one ran. The Vector W8 utilized an automatic Oldsmobile TM425 Transaxle mated to a Twin-Turbo CAN-AM modified Chevrolet small block V8 engine.
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 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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_MotorsIt was reported that the company seeks to sell two Vector WX-3 prototypes for US$3.5 million to secure further funding of development operations. Vector's website announced the WX-8 will be equipped with a choice of two potential engines: a 10.0 liter big-block V-8 or an electric/hybrid 7.0 liter small-block V-8. The car was not complete by the time of designer Gerald Wiegert's death in early 2021, with an incomplete prototype model sitting on Wiegert's driveway.
