Vector W8 Twin Turbo and other toys.

[Vectorw8015]

Glasgowrob said:

tell us more about the mil spec components being used?

seems an utterly bonkers over the top approach in a good way

In the dash all of the circuit breakers and switches are out of an F14 and F16 cockpit, same mil spec numbers. The electroluminescent display was out of the F117A.
The brake pedal reservoir's are from Lockheed Martin. The wire harness was produced by the same company that made them for McDonald Douglas the wireharness is silver wire with cannon plugs. Hobbs hour meter for the engine ect. The rivets are cherry max rivets the same used on all of the aircraft produced by McDonald Douglas and Lockheed Martin. The air vents are all aircraft eyball vents. The interior cabin lights are aircraft eyball lights. The floor pan is a section of the F117A aluminium honeycomb belly pan, just cut to fit the car. It was one of the first Kevlar/Carbon Fiber bodies every produced for automotive applications, and the list goes on.

Edited by Vectorw8015 on Monday 18th February 12:44

Edited by Vectorw8015 on Monday 18th February 12:45

[Vectorw8015]

Watchman said:

I only have one question regarding the Vector and that's to ask why the engine was mounted transversely. I can only think of three obvious other cars that used transverse engines - Miura, Stratos, and Noble M12/400... and I don't really know why you'd use one over the other anyway.

The big factor was finding a transmission that could handle 950 lb ft of torque. The engine makes 650hp and 649lbft of torque on 8lbs of boost. At 14 lbs of boost on 110+ octane fuel it produces 1200hp and 950 lb ft of torque. There were not any transaxles produced in the day that could handle that kind of torque. Even today a very good transaxle like an Xtrac cant even take that kind of power. And that transaxle is a sequential 6 speed built for Daytona Prototype cars.

Ask me how I know........

[Vectorw8015]

Hairymonster said:

Hearing the original poster talking about high build quality of his car sits rather oddly against the Top Gear video in which Clarkson demonstrates the lousy quality fo the car he's driving. Had Vector been acquired by someone else at that point? Hence the Lambo V12 engine?

Yes, a hostile takeover occurred by an Indonesian company . Megatech ltd. They fired the entire Vector team, uprooted the company and relocated it on Florida. They rebodied a Lamborghini Diablo and called it a Vector M12. The build quality of those cars was horrific.

[Vectorw8015]

pSyCoSiS said:

What an absolute honour and privilege it must be to have worked on and own one of the most iconic cars in automotive history.

A stunning looking, futuristic machine with some unbelievable stats to go with it.

Hats off to you OP!

Thank you sir.

[Vectorw8015]

Gameface said:

Any pictures with the lights up?

Actually, lights down...

[Vectorw8015]

z06tim said:

Thanks for posting Vectorw8015. It's great to read about your car on PH.

Here's a few more of "J83007" when she was in Sinsheim museum back in early 2007.









I always wanted to learn more about the construction. The aluminium honeycomb sandwich panel structure was pretty advanced for the time, and I'm guessing inspired by the aviation industry, and cutting edge aircraft such as the XB-70 Valkyrie and B-58 Hustler.

Semi Aluminum monocoque construction, 4130 chro-moly integral roll cage, monocoque tubes epoxy bonded and riveted, foam filled for the crush zones. The roll cage is fully triangulated.

[Vectorw8015]

matrignano said:

Does it actually have a boost controller, HUD, parking sensors and cruise control? And a load of other features/buttons I can’t read?

The only opton my car does not have is the HUD. It was a terribly pricy option at the time aND none of the owners opted for it. The interface is in the car.

Boost control was stock on all production W8's


If so it must have been the most advanced car of its time!

[Vectorw8015]

daveco said:

Bizarre that they didn't make more of the car's top speed. The headline alone would surely have gotten them significantly more sales??

Sales were never a problem. We had 46 cars pre sold at the time. Hostile take overs tend to get in the way of production.

[Vectorw8015]

wolfracesonic said:

I was thinking that myself, I don't remember seeing the headline 'McLaren F1 fails to beat Vector W8 top speed'. Still an awesome, almost mythical car; an automotive Keyser Soze if you will.

I know, it's impossible to believe a car with 627hp and 480lbft of torque could hit 242, that because McLaren only did it once while taping all the seams and gaps up and removing the BMW rev limiter on a stretch of the autobahn late at night with unknown radar. Which is totally believable. But a car with 650hp and 649 lbft of torque with adjustable boost that will put out over 1000 hp and 950 lbft of torque wouldn't possibly be capable of achieving more than 218mph. Makes perfect sense.

The truth of the matter is no production McLaren will do over 221mph.

Edited by Vectorw8015 on Monday 18th February 20:58

[Vectorw8015]

UnluckyTimmeh said:

Perhaps a silly question, where is the fuel tank? I’m guessing in the front for weight distribution?

We’re they using bag tanks then, or was it an foam filled alloy tank?

Many thanks for posting all that you have so far

It is behind the driver and in front of the engine. It's a plastic tank filled with explosafe mesh.

[Vectorw8015]

Gameface said:

This is a great thread and it's good to have such a unicorn car on the forum but...

As nice as your car is, you belittle the McLaren's efforts and top speed but talk as if Vectors were regularly and routinely hitting 242mph.

I simply do not believe that.

What tyres were you using for starters? McLaren had to have tyres specially developed for the F1 (that no-one else had access to) because of the leap forward in performance. What tyres did you use that were capable of over 240mph years before the F1 was conceived?

The F1's performance figures are a matter of record. The Vector is already a whole second down (4.2s to 3.2s) by 100kph/62mph according to Road & Track/Autocar. Acceleration wise the McLaren destroys the Vector. How could it not when you're running a 3 speed automatic!

When the F1 was released its performance was way in advance of anything else on the road (and is still competitive today). At the time many people thought it's figures would never be bettered. Show us a review or article from the time that said "Yeah the McLaren is the fastest car in the world except for the Vector W8"...

If you worked for the company I'm sure you can provide proof that you attained 242mph regularly, rather than it being a mythical figure achieved in private on salt flats.

Your "facts" about where the F1 topped 240mph are incorrect which doesn't lend credence to the things you expect us to believe about your car. It was at Volkswagen's test track in Ehra-Lessien and was expertly timed, not as you put it "on a stretch of the autobahn late at night with unknown radar".

Just for starters who on earth would choose to run a car at 240mph for the first time at night??
It's just a laughable assertion. And on a public road!!

Sorry but you can't expect us to believe your cars figures (which there is little or no proof for) while expecting us to dismiss McLaren's (which are more verifiable).

Michelin developed the XGT for the Vector. They had one of our development cars for a year and designed the tire to achieve a 250 mph sustained speed on the W8. The tire was specifically set up for the W8's weight distribution and down force. The tires were guaranteed to that speed on that car. They would only guarantee it to 200 mph on any other car.

So yes we had special tires developed specifically for our cars top end.

Not sure how many McLaren F1's you have driven, but I've driven 2 now. And the car won't do 242. Jay Leno even mentions it about his F1, not that he's an auto authority such as yourelf, but he states the car doesn't come close to that top end claim.

The Vector deals with much taller gearing than the F1 and only 3 gears to do it. While it uses sheer torque to accelerate, it does so on a first gear that will take it to 84mph.

Edited by Vectorw8015 on Tuesday 19th February 12:16

[Vectorw8015]

The business end. And no, it is not a GM TPI set up. It is an intake manifold from FIRST. Which Vector had extrude honed for every car. The runners are 2" and siamese.

[Vectorw8015]

A size comparison.

[Vectorw8015]

Gameface said:

Neither will a Vector, unless you as an employee can provide concrete evidence otherwise.

And McLaren never claimed that was it was capable of 242. Only you are saying that. I believe they quoted 231mph or thereabouts.

Nevertheless The Guinness Book of World Records acknowledged the F1 broke 240mph. Please supply Vectors entry in their book for our perusal.

My question about tyres wasn't looking to catch you out. It was a genuine question.

It's a shame you didn't just wax lyrical about your car (which is entirely understandable) without belittling McLaren in the process and even then getting your facts wrong regarding Ehra-Leissen.

The Vector is a real curio and an interesting vehicle, you don't need to embellish it's ability.

As nice as your car may be, it's not in the same league as an F1, so you've definitely picked the wrong target.

WhIle I enjoy your fan boy enthusiasm for the F1, my guess is you have never seen one up close, let alone spent time with on or driven one. So while your arm chair quarter back exuberance is exciting, Gordon Murray's car is nice but not as amazing as you state.

[Vectorw8015]

mmcd87 said:

Superb thread OP.

Someone posted above, but another here from Technik Museum, Sinsheim, this time in 2016. Absolutely worth a visit if you can manage, amazing place.

This is car 017 now on display at Sensheim . Technically Jerry owns this car as awarded to him by the California courts. The issue is how to get it back.

[Vectorw8015]

Vocht said:

Whats the story behind you attaining the car? How did it come into your hands?

My particular car was the Singapore Motorshow Show car. It has a rather unique place in Vector history as the car was caught up in the hostile take over by Megatech. Tommy Soeharto approached Jerry at the Singapore motor show. As he was an investor and at the time Jerry was unaware of his inside movement to take over Vector, Tommy offered to buy the car while it was in Singapore. He was to wire the money for the car in to our account. Jerry left the car with him and traveled on to Geneva for the Motor Show taking AWX3 and AWX3R with him to that show.

Tommy never paid for the car. The wire transfer never came. The car was stolen by Soeharto and at a later date during the hostile takeover a judge ordered Tommy to ship the car back as he was illegally holding company assets of Vector. He shipped it back and we intercepted the car at LAX. Tommy had shipped it back to his inside guy to hold for him, but that did not work out in his favor. We placed the car up for sale to pay for the lawyers representing us in court during the hostile take over. The car was acquired by an individual that purchased the last 3 cars for sale. This went through another court battle over who actually owned the car the gentleman who paid for it or his representative that purchased the cars. Of course his representative was found to be embezzling funds in the form of cars.

The car was then with its rightful owner. Fast forward 8 years later and I was in the market to purchase a W8. I started hunting for a car, it took me through several owners not willing to part with theirs that eventually led me back to the gentleman who bought the last 3 cars. He was in the process of selling his entire 127 car, car collection.

Some memories and laughter ensued and he gave me pick of the 3 cars. Due to my cars backgound and a special attachment my now ex had with the White car, I purchased that car from her owner. Also the history of the car was priceless. My car inaugurated the Singapore grand prix track while she was in Jakarta. At the hands of Tommy Soeharto.

She still has the qualification sticker in her drivers window.

The rest is basically history. There are a lot more details regarding the cars history that I have left out, so you get the abbreviated version.

Edited by Vectorw8015 on Wednesday 20th February 10:28

[Vectorw8015]

tch911 said:

Gosh, it's such a shame when people don't put themselves behind the OP's screen. One of the things I really hate about forums, and what would ultimately put me off ever putting one of my car's onto Reader's Cars. How do you think it feels to read these things about your pride and joy, let along a vehicle you were instrumental in the manufacture of.

But, OP, my oh my, if the car weren't good enough, your knowledgeable insight into these Unicorns, the engineering behind them, and the photos of the bare frame of the car especially, are verging on triumphant.

Am another Top Trumps fanboy (and that certainly explains my Pantera ownership!) and always day-dreamed about this mythical beast.

I have always admired manufacturers who have looked outside the (automotive) box, and the aeronautical industry was surely the very first place to look. Did it really have a Heads Up display, or did I poach that from a misguided query from another forum member?

I couldn't give a toss whether it can hit 242 mph (but have no reasons to doubt why it could), much as I don't care that my car is very unlikely to get anywhere near it's speedo top speed (200mph). What a wonderful, wonderful thing, and good on you for sharing it on her. Thank you

Hi Tch911,

The cars all have a HUD interface. It was available for anyone to order but was parts sourced from the F16. It was incredibly costly and not a single owner opted for the option in the cars. So none of the production W8's have the HUD. But it was available.

[Vectorw8015]

z06tim said:

Thanks Vectorw8015. I don't think I had seen this photo before. You can really see the aviation inspired structure. I know they crashed one as part of the certification process for the US market. I think it would have been a 30mph flat front barrier, rather than the 35mph these days.

Fun fact: During DOT crash testing it normally takes a manufacturer 6 to 7 cars to achieve DOT approval. We did it with one car. DOT could not believe the car made it through the tire blow out tests, front and rear crash tests , side impact tests and roof crush test with a single car. even more amazing to them was the fact that the car drove to each test after its previous one. At the time it earned DOT's highest crash test rating the Ann Arbor office had ever seen. We had a beautiful giant plaque awarded to us by DOT at the time. I wish Mega-Tech had not taken it.

[Vectorw8015]

z06tim said:

I wonder how he will take it when he discovers there was a 900bhp Callaway Corvette that went over 254mph in 1988, also on special tyres.

[Vectorw8015]

z06tim said:

Thanks Vectorw8015. I don't think I had seen this photo before. You can really see the aviation inspired structure. I know they crashed one as part of the certification process for the US market. I think it would have been a 30mph flat front barrier, rather than the 35mph these days.

Her construction very much copies Group C cars of the 1980's. A very similar structure to something like a Porsche 962...