VectorW2

01

Origins

Gerald Wiegert's Vector W2 prototype of 1978 declared that America could out-exotic Italy: a wedge shaped like a fighter's fuselage, built around aerospace materials and a twin-turbo V8, promised at speeds beyond anything in series production. For a decade the W2 was ubiquitous in magazines and absent from showrooms — the prototype toured shows and shoots while funding chased the dream. The swagger was the product; Wiegert's genius was for keeping the promise alive until the W8 finally industrialised it in 1989. The W2 deserves its own entry in the American car story: the moment the supercar became a Californian ambition, styled like the SR-71 its creator worshipped, and sold — for years — entirely on conviction.