1/6/2023 0 Comments Vector w8 for saleA 1993 Vector W8 recently crossed the auction block in Palm Springs, California, where it failed to sell for $950,000 against a reserve price of more than $1 million. While it’s easy to assume that the few cars produced by a failed, largely-unknown automotive startup would be worth nothing today, quite the opposite is true. Interestingly, the epilogue to this story doesn’t go as you might think. And while the brand tried to make a comeback with the Lamborghini-powered M12 later in the 1990s, sales of that model were somehow even less stellar than the W8. And then there’s the Andre Agassi story: apparently the world-famous tennis player took delivery of a pre-production model under the condition that he wouldn’t drive it – but he did, of course, which led to an overheating car, bad publicity, and – for Agassi – a full refund.Īlthough Vector struggled to survive for a few years, the W8 went out of production after a reported 19 units were made – 17 customer cars and two pre-production test vehicles. The W8’s pricing – initially promised at around $250,000 – swelled to more than $400,000 by the time the car reached customers, making it one of the most expensive vehicles on the road. Unfortunately, running a supercar company is hard. Vector said a W8 in stock guise could reach 60 mph in around four seconds, hit a twelve second quarter mile, and achieve a 220-mph top speed – all of this back when when Ferrari and Lamborghini were struggling to crack the 200-mph barrier. While these numbers were measured with the car’s stock setup, the W8 allowed drivers to increase boost for more power. Under the hood, the W8 produced an impressive 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque courtesy of a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V8 sourced from General Motors. (The W8’s gear selector was mounted to the left of the driver.) Mind you, this is back when Ferrari gauges could only be trusted to provide a rough estimate. That was proven with the W8, his first production car, which used a body made primarily out of carbon fiber, an “aircraft-like” gauge setup with reconfigurable displays, and a 3-speed automatic that could be shifted like a manual when desired. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: we’re all aware of similar efforts from flash-in-the-pan car companies like Zenvo, Gumpert, Venturi, and others.īut Wiegert seemed to be a bit more headstrong than others – and he was certainly better funded. Created by a man named Jerry Wiegert, the company intended to face off against high-end supercar manufacturers like Ferrari and Lamborghini. Before we get to the car itself, a little background on Vector.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |