Anyone have real experiences with Vectors?

Does anyone have a real experience with Vectors? Does anyone know of someone who's dealt with Vector (the company or the car)? I'm looking for the REAL DEAL, not some bogus story about how your Playmate friend's boyfriend had two....

I'm such a nerd. I saw this thread and thought about vectors in the mathematical sense. I was going to pull out the matrix multiplication for you. Anyway, I'll go back to the nerdery now and continue with my nerd things. You all have fun now.

I've had experiences reading about Vectors . . . nothing more.

Vectors have always seemed to be the enigma of the auto world. Solid facts or experiences are hard to find.

Welcome to the board, Hudson. :)

Vectors are rare...but they do exist. I've seen (in person) two W8s and four or five M12s (it's iffy because one of them was under construction at the time).

I friend of mine worked on the M12s, and SRV8.

Originally posted by Gunman
I friend of mine worked on the M12s, and SRV8.

If this is true, I'd like to speak with them.

I can't just give out his name and info, without consulting him first. Can I ask your interest in contacting him?

They're too rare. But, hey, are they produced in Wilmington, CA? Hey, I live nearby. Info anybody?

If any of you guys want to see the ONLY yellow vector ever built (not sure what model) go the the Los Gatos Auto Mall in california. I just took my hummer there and they were working on the engine. Just dont get work or anything done there, they will rip you off as much as possible. I just wanted my new tires rotated on my Hummer and they charged me $750 :finger: and they didnt even tell me an estamate they just whent along and did it. It should have been no more than $300. you should check out the vector, i think it was a w8 or something
:confused:

There were THREE yellow Vectors.

Vectors were produced in Wilmington, CA, from 1990 until 1993, when production moved to Green Cove Springs (and later Jacksonville), FL. Production ended back in 1999.

I sat in a black M12 at the Monterey Historics a few years ago...

If any of you guys want to see the ONLY yellow vector ever built (not sure what model) go the the Los Gatos Auto Mall in california.

I have photos of that car being worked on at that shop. I know the owner and that is the only Yellow W8 ever built. That car was sold to a guy in Texas first. He requested the Yellow paint, which was a custom mix, not a standard yellow. If you look inside the car, you will see the only Ostrich skin interior for any Vector ever built. It was a $20,000 option to have Vector do that.

Then a guy in Florida bought the car. The W8 needed some work, so the guy decided to alter the engine and other parts. Rumor is the car had 1000bhp (600bhp was stock rating), but I have never seen proof of that.

The current owner, who lives in Northern California, has taken on challenge of making that car run right with 900 plus horsepower. The Florida guys did some "mickey mouse" things to the car. In a sense, it sad the car is not fully original, but it is going to be a very fast car when it back on the road.

There were THREE yellow Vectors.

There is only 1 Yellow W8, chassis #12. There are 2 Yellow M12s. One is a 1999 M12 and the other I think is 1995 or 1996.

One non-production, as if you can call any Vector a real prodcution car, is the SRV8. 17 M12s were built, 1 W2, 2 preporduction W8s, 17 production W8s, 1 WX3 coupe, 1 WXS roadster, and the SRV8. You might count the very weak IMSA Vector race cars.

Originally posted by vectorclub
There is only 1 Yellow W8, chassis #12. There are 2 Yellow M12s. One is a 1999 M12 and the other I think is 1995 or 1996....

The Vector race car (the one and only) was painted a few colors, depending on who the sponsor was...but I wasn't counting that one. And I wasn't counting the SRV8, either. The three yellow Vectors are the #12 W8 (1992), the #2 M12 (1996), and the #12 M12 (1998).

Seeing one would be a waste of time for me. I would faint at the first sight of it, then It'd be gone by the time I woke up:disappoin , or I would crash into somethjing looking at it if I was driving, lol :eek7:

Seeing one would be a waste of time for me. I would faint at the first sight of it, then It'd be gone by the time I woke up:disappoin , or I would crash into somethjing looking at it if I was driving, lol :eek7:

You can see more pics of the Vectors at the Vector Aeromotive Club site, www.vectoraeromotiveclub.com

If you would have gone to the Concorso in Monterey, there was 5 Vectors sitting there for hours. This would have been enough time for you to faint and wake up. Since you would have been walking there would have been no issues with crashing. :wink:

You can see more pics of the Vectors at the Vector Aeromotive Club site, www.vectoraeromotiveclub.com

If you would have gone to the Concorso in Monterey, there was 5 Vectors sitting there for hours. This would have been enough time for you to faint and wake up. Since you would have been walking there would have been no issues with crashing. :wink:

The links on http://www.vectoraeromotiveclub.com/ dont work. I tried three diffreent browsers........:uhoh: :eek:

I used to work in Green Cove Springs FL from 1993-1995. I saw a yellow Vector parked at a gas station while driving through town. I could kill myself for not tuning around to go check it out. I've been a fan of them since my youth, but never new that they had once actually been located in GCS. If you've ever been there, you'd find it hard to believe, since you can't get much more redneck than that little town.
Anyway, I moved to Fort Lauderdale and lived down the street for some exotic car stores for while. I saw several Vectors during that time, one painted in an American flag motif and a purple one. I'm sure there were others, but I can't recall at this moment. I walked by them and looked in through the windows, but never went in the stores to look at them, for fear I'd do something foolish. :)

[QUOTE=vectorclub]

Then a guy in Florida bought the car. The W8 needed some work, so the guy decided to alter the engine and other parts. Rumor is the car had 1000bhp (600bhp was stock rating), but I have never seen proof of that.

The current owner, who lives in Northern California, has taken on challenge of making that car run right with 900 plus horsepower. The Florida guys did some "mickey mouse" things to the car. In a sense, it sad the car is not fully original, but it is going to be a very fast car when it back on the road.QUOTE]

Jack Carusoe owned that vector i believe. He owns a few MOPAR dealerships here in jacksonville. Ive had the pleasure of talking to him about his car collection (over 250). However i never got to see the vector in person

SO REAL and FULLY tuning the Twin Turbo W8 :naughty:

:banghead: (Simulator driving it in Gran Turismo) :icon16:

god bless gran tourismo

I drove a yellow V12 Vector w/ ford guages/controls etc,in Ca in late summer of 2000.Also saw a black one w/ heavy front end damage and a silver one w/ light damage to pass rr wheel arch and ,i was told, wiring glitches.All 3 were being stored, along with a met blue Marcos kit car,in a warehouse in Pomona Ca

The only time I have ev er see one is on my friends poster in high school. Cool to know people actually see them. Anyone got any pics of one you have seen?

I am new to this board so Hello everyone. I have a few experiences with Vector. I was an exotic car broker in 1989-1993 and dealt with the Vector factory. I was an independent broker so I was not associated with the factory in any official capacity. I was right out of High School, so I was young and enthusiastic.

As far as experiences I toured the factory twice and was very impressed with what I saw, but there were only 3 cars being worked on. Sorry I have no idea of the chasis numbers.

I do know of a purple car, yes it is purple and it is a W-8. The car is owned by Ron Tonkin who is the owner of the Tonkin Dealerships in the State of Oregon, which is where I lived at the time. Anyway, he invested into Vector because I sold him on the idea (I doubt he would remember this) and the story goes that when the company became insolvant he sued and was able to seize a vehicle. The funny thing is that purple is his favorite color (he owns a purple Ferrari Dino) and when he went into the factory with his attorneys he saw a purple W-8 and took it. At least this is the inside story that I have heard from some insiders .I have sat in his car (unknown to him, hee hee) and it is quite nice. To give you more detail Ron Tonkin owns Tonkin Gran Turismo which is now the oldest Ferrari dealership in the US and from time to time you can see this purple W-8 in the service area which is where I got to sit in it. The only reason why I was able to do this is because I knew some of the service employees very well.

I can tell you that his service area has had some fairly major problems with the car, but I don't know if this is common. I can also tell you that I have seen two W-12's which was also at the Tonkin Ferrari dealership and folks, that car is a piece of crap. The fit and finish was practically like a kit car, and honest to God you can take the flat part of your fist, hit the side of the car just in front of the rear wheel and the damn thing rattles so I am sure if you drive on rough roads the car must give a headache in no time. That was the same on both the cars I saw. One was black and the other was silver (the W-12
s that is).

I lived in Southern California for 8 years and I saw a white W-8 in Laguna Beach parked on the side of the road just like a normal car. Honest to God, I swear no one really noticed, but than again Southern California can jade you because there are so many exotics down there. Actually Vegas isn't bad either!

Anyway, if any of you have questions please feel free to write. I love all exotics especially Ferrari and Aston Martins. Ciao!!!

Does anyone have a real experience with Vectors? Does anyone know of someone who's dealt with Vector (the company or the car)? I'm looking for the REAL DEAL, not some bogus story about how your Playmate friend's boyfriend had two....

Do A search on GT8

The story you are looking for that is REAL!

I worked for the last version of the company in Green Cove Springs and drove the race car at it's last outing at Road Atlanta. I did quite a bit of travelling around the country looking at he cars for the factory and did the troubleshooting during the time I worked for them.

I just got back from Monterey CA for the Historic Races, Concourso Italiano, and Concours d'Elegance. As i was about to leave Concourso Italiano, I couldn't believe my eyes- the Avtech coupe prototype was driving away. I actually ran after it to get a picture only to find the driver was looking to park it. And who's driving it- Gerald Wiegert. I felt a little overwhelmed and didn't talk to him, but I overheard him saying he is working on another car! I did take a few pictures. Here's one with Wiegert. He's in the black shirt.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b62/firefoxussr/vector_at_concourso.jpg

I went to Crystal Cove in Newport on Saturday with a few buddies and low and behold Weigert showed up in the WX3! I snapped a bunch of pics, and he's a link to them: http://www.supercars.net/PitLane?viewThread=y&gID=2&fID=0&tID=100468&bottom=0

My name on Supercars.net is Supercar Ace, so PM there if you have any questions (I hardly ever visit this site anymore do to a lack of activity in the forums I like to visit). Anyways, enjoy the pics!

Several questions...

1) Weren't Vectors the first cars to incorporate a carbon fiber body?
2) Weren't they the fast cars until the McLaren F1?
3) I haven't heard tael of them since the early 90's.

Several questions...

1) Weren't Vectors the first cars to incorporate a carbon fiber body?
2) Weren't they the fast cars until the McLaren F1?
3) I haven't heard tael of them since the early 90's.

1) No, Haratio Pagani was the first to do that with the Lamborghini Countach Competition Concept, which was made entirely out of carbon fiber. The W8's a re made out of fiberglass and it only the WX3 Avtech has carbon fiber in it.

2) They where claimed to be capable of over 240 (the W8's) and the WX3 was claimed to be able to between 250-260mph. No official testing has been done to prove or disprove this.

3) Right after 1993, Vector was taken over by Megatech who then kicked Weigert out from the company. Weigert sued for the design rights and won, and has laid low. He is currently working on a new project, but we'll have to wait and see when he releases it.

Thanks for information. I haven't heard much of the Vectors for about a decade.

No problem. I've done a lot of research on the company and have even met with Weigert himself. I can answer questions you guys have.

No problem. I've done a lot of research on the company and have even met with Weigert himself. I can answer questions you guys have.
Same here.

I saw the white late model W8 at the Eyes on Design car show last year. I got a lot of pics of it. Go on the Wikipedia Vector w8 page, and it is the one that is pictured on the article. I took that image myself when I saw it there.

Please check the date of the last post in the thread and do not post in it if it is older than 3 months from the current date.
Closed.

I have. I've seen one multiple times. Talked with the owner countless times about it.