Despite having one of the largest automotive industries in the world, the United States is not the first country that comes to mind when you think of supercars. However, there are plenty of excellent American-built machines that deserve more recognition in the world of supercars.
One model that has been largely overlooked is the Vector Avtech WX-3, a wild-looking supercar from the 1990s that boasts futuristic styling and a mid-engine capable of producing up to 1200 horsepower.
The 1980s and early 1990s were a very dynamic era for the American automotive industry, a time of great change as new and creative supercar manufacturers emerged to challenge established brands like Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini in the supercar realm. One of the emerging automakers of that era that many wish had actually succeeded is Vector Aeromotive, a now-defunct company that created a handful of futuristic concepts and high-performance cars that captured the public's imagination with new materials, new construction techniques, and innovative manufacturing methods.
In the early 1990s, company founder Gerald Wiegert, a veteran of the Detroit auto industry who dreamed of building a “fighter jet on four wheels,” created what was arguably the most impressive American supercar of its time: the Vector Avtech WX-3.
Photo: RM Sotheby's
This was a hand-built supercar with a fighter jet-inspired design, a lightweight honeycomb aluminum chassis, a sleek carbon fiber and Kevlar body, and a 7.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine. Built using aerospace industry technology, the Avtech WX-3 was intended to be Vector's most advanced model; a supercar with massive power and blistering speed that rivaled the McLaren F1. Sadly, Vector Aeromotive only built a prototype of this model, but it never made it to production, as the company ran into financial difficulties and was acquired by parent company Megatech.
Vector introduced the initial Avtech WX-3 Coupe prototype at the 1992 Geneva International Motor Show. It was a silver-clad, non-running but fully finished show model, clearly inspired by the company's earlier W8, but with a sleeker, more organic aesthetic. The following year, Vector returned to Geneva with an improved WX-3, repainted Brilliant Aquamarine by Wiegert to match the teal-blue-and-purple logo of his Aquajet jet-ski company. A price of $765,000 was announced for the production model, and this time, the company also brought a new roadster version of the WX-3, called the WX-3R. This also failed to reach production.
At the time, Vector representatives, including production manager Markus Rufer and chief engineer Dave Kostka, told some U.S. publications that the WX-3 was “built like a spaceship” using “aerospace-grade materials,” meaning it was essentially built to aerospace industry construction standards, with a focus on safety and reliability.
Photo: RM Sotheby's
The Avtech WX-3 is based on a version of the Vector W8 chassis (the 1989 W8 is considered the first American supercar) but is proof of the brand's evolution in terms of technology and design. It fascinated the automotive world not only with its pure Vector style, but also with its impressive performance.
The car features a lightweight yet rigid monocoque with an aluminum honeycomb structure held together by approximately 5,000 aircraft-grade rivets. Its body is made of carbon fiber and Kevlar and features a very low profile, aerodynamic bumpers, pop-up headlights and scissor doors. Other notable elements include the triple air intakes on the sides, the wraparound windshield and the huge rear spoiler, all of which contribute to its futuristic aesthetic.
The plan was for the sports car to go into production with engine options ranging from 600 hp to 1,200 hp. The one-off prototype, however, draws power from a Rodeck 7.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine capable of 1,000 hp, an impressive figure for a supercar built in the early 1990s. Mounted behind the passenger compartment, the engine sends power to the rear wheels via a heavily modified General Motors Turbo-Hydramatic 425 automatic transmission.
Photo: RM Sotheby's
The interior of the car is just as impressive as the exterior. The cockpit appears inspired by an airplane cockpit with a digital computer screen and a dashboard full of buttons and switches, while the seating arrangement is unusual, to say the least. Instead of two bucket seats, as is usually found in supercars, the WX-3 prototype has a three-seater bench seat and the gear shifter is located in the driver's side bulkhead rather than in the center of the cabin.
Today, the Avtech WX-3 sports car prototype stands as one of the last all-American cars ever built by Vector Aeromotive. Its successor, the M12 launched in 1995, had a very similar body but borrowed its chassis and many mechanical components from the Italian Lamborghini Diablo.
Although production plans for the WX-3 and WX-3R fell through, Jerry Wiegert was so fond of the prototypes that he kept them as his occasional personal ride, and could often be seen at Cars and Coffee events around SoCal in one of these futuristic-looking machines. He kept them until 2019, when he sold the cars to a private collector.
The Vector Avtech WX-3 prototype then underwent a $300,000 restoration by Miller Motorcars of Greenwich, Connecticut. The car is now back up for auction, with an estimated price of $1.3-1.5 million. It is scheduled to go up for auction in mid-August in Monterey, California.