Creator Of The American-Made Vector Supercar Has Died

Wedged-shaped supercars are undoubtedly etched in the history of motoring. Their futuristic appeal, partnered with impressive performance figures makes them poster-worthy.

One of the notable nameplates during the early '90s was the Vector W8, created by entrepreneur Gerald "Jerry" Wiegert, who founded the company in 1971. He initially called the company the "Vehicle Design Force," which he later renamed Vector after partnering with Hollywood movie car expert Lee Brown.

Gallery: Vector W8

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Unfortunately, Wiegert has reportedly passed on January 15 in California at the age of 76, Automotive News reports. The cause of death hasn't been disclosed at the time of this writing.

Wiegert was born in Dearborn in 1944. He attended Detroit's College for Creative Studies and completed an internship at General Motors' Technical Center. He also graduated from ArtCenter College of Design in California then later worked as a freelance designer before putting up Vector to rival popular European supercars like Lamborghini and Ferrari.

The Vector W8 supercar, though short-lived, was Wiegert's greatest creation. It made an impact in the motoring industry, debuting in 1989 with the first two prototypes – one running and one static.

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Part of the Vector W8's acclaim was its reported top speed of 242 miles per hour (389 kilometers per hour), and 0 to 60 mph sprint of just 3.9 seconds. The pull comes from a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V8 that initially makes 625 horsepower (466 kilowatts) and 649 pound-feet (880 Newton-meters) of torque on 8 PSI of boost. Pumping up the boost to 14 PSI can make the same power plant churn out 1,200 hp (895 kW), according to the company.

The Vector W8 didn't have a wide customer base, only producing up to 17 customer cars (and two prototypes) during its production period. It was also Wiegert's swan song to the company as it was taken over by the Indonesian company, Megatech, giving birth to the M12 supercar in 1995.

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