The Vector Avtech WX-3 was arguably the most impressive American supercar of its time. It featured a mid-engine with up to 1,200 horsepower, a futuristic design and, of course, a price that only a lucky few could afford.

Unfortunately, the Vector Avtech WX-3 never made it past the prototype stage (the turbulent story is told in more detail below), but a working prototype was built and is now offered for sale.

Quick Facts – The Vector Avtech WX-3 Prototype

• The Vector Avtech WX-3 was an American supercar prototype with a mid-engine producing up to 1200 horsepower, futuristic design and a high price. It was intended to be Vector’s most advanced model and compete with the McLaren F1, but was never put into production.
• Vector, founded in 1971 by Gerald Wiegert, struggled to move from prototypes to production. Its most successful model was the Vector W8, of which 17 were produced. The company faced financial challenges typical of automotive startups such as Tucker and DeLorean.
• The WX-3 prototype featured a lightweight aluminum honeycomb chassis, carbon fiber and Kevlar bodywork, and a twin-turbocharged 7.0-liter V8 engine. It had modern suspension, disc brakes, and an unusual three-person bench seat.
• After Wiegert kept the only working WX-3 prototype for years, it was sold in 2019 and restored for $300,000. It is now being offered for sale by RM Sotheby’s, with an estimate of between $1.3 million and $1.5 million.

The turbulent history of Vector Aeromotive

Vector’s story is much like the turbulent events at other unique North American automotive startups like Tucker, Bricklin and DeLorean. There never seemed to be enough time, money or production volume, and the story ended in a familiar spiral of financial chaos and disappointed investors.

The Vector Avtech WX-3 prototype is a great example of the American company’s design language. It is unique compared to its predecessors, but clearly influenced by them.

The company that later became Vector was originally founded in 1971 as Vehicle Design Force by a young engineer named Gerald Wiegert from Dearborn, Michigan.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the company released a series of highly futuristic supercar prototypes and changed their name to the name of their first prototype – the Vector.

Numerous cars were shown at major auto shows and featured in contemporary magazines and on the auto television shows of the time, all of which aroused growing interest among the American public.

Unfortunately, Vector had great difficulty in starting mass production of the cars and selling them to the American public.

The company’s most successful car was arguably the Vector W8, launched in 1989. 17 examples were produced and the combination of futuristic design, exceptional performance and great rarity made them a hit among those who could afford them.

The interior design was unusual to say the least, with three seats in a bench layout. This was to be replaced in the production cars by the more common two-bucket seat layout.

The next production car Vector launched would become their most controversial; it was called the M12, and if you could have sworn when you heard one of these cars that it sounded like a Diablo V12, you were more right than you thought.

The Vector Avtech WX-3 prototype shown here

The Vector Avtech WX-3 was intended to be Gerald Wiegert’s crowning achievement, a supercar that was faster and more advanced than anything else in the world except the McLaren F1, which was produced in England.

The WX-3 used a version of the W8 chassis, a lightweight but very rigid monocoque with an aluminum honeycomb structure that required about 5,000 aircraft rivets. The body was made of carbon fiber and Kevlar and featured a design that was typical of Vector – not the same as its predecessors, but clearly related to them.

The engine used in the WX-3 was the Rodeck 7.0-liter V8 with twin turbos, which is said to produce 1,200 hp at its maximum power level and 1,000 hp at the prototype power level. Power was transmitted to the rear wheels via a heavily modified General Motors Turbo-Hydramatic 425 automatic transmission.

The power is provided by the Rodeck 7.0-liter V8 with twin turbo, which is said to produce a maximum output of 1,200 hp.

The Avtech WX-3 was given modern independent suspension at the front and rear, as well as disc brakes on all four wheels (which is actually a given). The interior features an unusual bench seat that can accommodate three people, instead of just two as is usual in super sports cars.

The world saw the car for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in 1992, and a year later the price of USD 765,000 was announced. To put that in perspective: In today’s money, that would be about USD 1,663,279.

Unfortunately, due to the turbulent events that befell Vector at the time, the Avtech WX-3 never entered production and only one fully functioning example was ever built. Wiegert kept this car in his own collection for many years, perhaps a sign of how much it must have meant to him.

He eventually sold that car, along with another, to a US collector through a brokerage agreement in 2019. It was then sent to Miller Motorcars of Greenwich, Connecticut, for $300,000 worth of restoration work.

No other supercar ever looked like a Vector, and it remains a testament to American supercar design.

This work included restoring the mechanical systems and installing a new interior that better matched the exterior color.

The car is now being offered for sale by RM Sotheby’s in Monterey, California in mid-August with a guide price of $1,300,000 – $1,500,000. You can visit the listing here if you would like to read more about it or register to bid.

Photos: Zach Brehl ©2024 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ben’s articles have been featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many other outlets.

Silodrome was founded by Ben in 2010. Since then, the website has grown into a global leader in alternative and classic automobiles, with well over a million readers per month from all over the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.