by Wallace Wyss –
Long ago, fifty years ago, give or take, I was headin’ out from Michigan to the land of sun and surf, the West Coast, and a lady friend from Bad Axe, MI told me I ought to look up her friend Gerald Weigert, who was also from Michigan and had already gone to the coast dead set on designing and producing his own supercar.
Well, glory be, I came to the Coast and went to an auto show, (I think it was called Auto Expo) and there was Jerry in a jet pilot’s jumpsuit, with a clay model of his supercar, the Vector.
He was adamant his car would beat the fastest Ferraris and Lamborghinis. I didn’t listen too closely, distracted by the many charms of Miss Vector, also in a jumpsuit (turns out there were many Miss Vectors…)
Through the decades, I’d run into him at this auto show and that one. He did get the first Vector design into production but I think under 20 were built. Then he sold it to a Malaysian consortium and whaddya’ know, they up and locked him out of his own company He made worldwide headlines on that.
Lamborghini bought the company at some point and made a few Lambo powered cars but when they cancelled it, litigation started and Jerry, indefatigable, got his moribund company back. The plan? To develop a third series. That never got into production, but again at each auto show, I’d run into Jerry and speaking soto voicem he would tell me that he was courting an investor so he had to be mum.
Now come to the year 2019. Two Vectors sell, turns out to be the two prototypes still in his garage, both the WX-3
The two, ironically each called “one of a kind” (well, one was a coupe and the other a roadster so technically they were right) prototypes of the 1993 Vector WX-3 were brought to the RM Sotheby’s auction on 17th of January in Scottsdale, Arizona.
RM said the WX-3 was unveiled at the 1993 Geneva Auto Show by founder and chief designer Gerald Weigert. “The prototype represented the finest achievements in car design and engineering of its time and received international critical acclaim,” they said.
They pointed out that Weigert kept the vehicles in his personal collection for 25 years. They predicted that the teal WX-3 coupe and purple WX-3R roadster would go for $500,000 per car.
The 1993 Vector Avtech WX-3R Roadster Prototype Sold For $500,000 (including fees).
The 1993 Vector Avtech WX-3 Prototype Sold For $615,500 (including fees).
Ain’t it great when the auction company’s estimate prove to be too low?
Congratulations, Jer. hope the next car you develop is just as interesting.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
Wallace Wyss
THE AUTHOR: Wallace Wyss is the author of 18 car books. He is co-host of the Autotalk show broadcast weekly out of KUCR-FM Riverside.
Photos compliments of RM Sotheby’s.
That looks like a bad axe car.