good enough

[Chris]

It has twin turbo 6L V8. It has 625hp.
It is also not a two tonne supercar, its only 3300 pounds. unfortunetly, it has 3 speed auto (for strength). It does 0-60 in 4.2 seconds, the quarter in 12 flat, and on to 218mph. It also pulls .97g's. They only built 22 of them.

[Hudson]

Having done a fair amount of research on this company, I'll agree on almost all of those points. The one point I can't agree on is the top speed because I highly doubt anyone has ever had one anywhere near 200 mph. First because none of the California Vectors (the W2/W8 being one) had ever seen the inside of a wind tunnel. Second, because the only Wiegert-designed Vector to see a wind tunnel (the Avtech WX3) didn't have the air flow into the engine bay to keep the engine running at high speeds...I was told "it was starved for air." The original prototype (W2) was theoretically (gearing multiplied by redline) capable of 237 mph, according to early reports.

[Chris]

Everywhere I go I see 218 mph for the W8. The company said that, and I must say I believe them. I also doubt someone has ever been to that speed, but I think it could.

[Hudson]

The company said plenty of things that weren't true. They said (in 1980) they'd be in production in 1982 (with a 2400lb, $125k car)...they weren't. They told AutoWeek (in 1987), they'd be in production shortly, even showing them cars in the midst of being assembled...it was another three years before ONE car rolled out of the factory. They said alot of things.

My money's on the W8 not being able to top 200...and perhaps having a top speed of 150-160, due to the W8's estimated aerodynamics of over cd .40.

Everywhere you go you see "218" because that's what the factory claimed. Don't believe every factory claim...especially one's you've seen about Vector.

[Heep]

I've done over 250 MPH in one...........








...........in Gran Turismo 2

[Chris]

.40 Cd!!! Thats about the same as the big yellow bus that takes kids to school!! Ok, but this is all hypothetical. With that much power, 200mph is definately possible. That drag is not at all good, so I would have to be iffy in the top speed, but I would have to think it would be over 160mph.

[Hudson]

My estimate (read: guess) is based on the awful aerodynamics and the fact that later designs would have "starved themselves for air" at high speeds. While the weight, gearing, and power could potentially give the W8 a top speed well over 200 (estimates being as high as 237), I would doubt anything more than 160. The engine needs air to go and a lack of it would prevent extremely high speeds.

[Chris]

Teh air starvation could be indicative of good aerodynamics. The air is going around the car nicely, not being interrupted by the parts of the car. So a good idea might have been to put air intakes in the front to get the air in.

It is kinda neat wondering what would happen, though, and what it all means.

[Hudson]

I've heard (first-person) stories about the W8 ranging from it being "over-engineered" to it being a glorified "hot rod." The ones I have seen look very nice up close, and seem to be a bit nice than the M12s I've examined.

[Chris]

They really are kind of like hot-rods. They use a transmission and engine from the big three, which are widely used by hot rodders. I've never seen one, but they look nice in pictures.

The M12 is really more exotic, with a Lamborghini V12 (and I assume the 5 speed stick, opposed to the 3 speed auto)

[Hudson]

Yes, the W8 used a Donovan-engineered 6.0L twin-turbo V8 based on the Chevrolet small block hooked to a 3-speed automatic transaxle, based on the Eldorado/Toronado transaxle.

The M12 used the Lamborghini Diablo V12 mated to a US-build 5-speed manual. The M12's driveline was placed longitudinally while the engine in the W8 sat transversely.

[vectorclub]

If you read the fine print about the top speed of the Vector you will see that they are guessing. There is no one that has done an offical test of the car. I do know some W8 owners and they all say the car becomes semi unstable at high speeds. If you look at the early W8s versus the newer W8s you will see they added a font spoiler and chaged other parts of the car do to the aerodynamic issues.

Wiegert was a master media hound. He feed the figures to anyone who would publish them. I think you will find those followed the Vector W8 closely found the car did not live up to the hype. It is still a very unqiue automobile and Wiegert is not the first guy to make claims his car could not reach.

If you ever get a chance to buy one, beware that they are expensive to own. I know of one owner who spent $10,000 on his W8 over the course of 600 miles. I put 600 miles on my car evey week.

The W8 is has other flaws, but the point here is don't believe all those fantasitic performance numbers you read about the Vector W8. The over engineered part was in refrence to the crash tests. That is one area the Vector did do very well in.

[Chris]

Vectorclub, welcome to AF! You've been posting like mad in all of the Vector Forums, if you keep this up, maybe Igor will make you a mod here. Good to have knowledgeable people here, and I am thankful for your insight.

[vectorclub]

I maybe posting like mad, but the grammer erros arekind of ulgy because I am typing fast and not checking for type o's. Really English is my native language. It is typing that is new to me.

[Chris]

lol I know how that can be!! One of my threads was "Is it reall and good??" (I meant: Is it really any good).