The Vector M12 is a very rare supercar built in the United States between 1995 – 1999 in only 17 examples (not 14 as the video title would have you believe). Its body looked Italian, even though it was not, but the chassis and engines were both derived from those used in the period Lamborghini Diablo supercar.
Power from the 5.7-liter V12 engine was rated at around 490 hp, while torque was around 576 Nm, or 425 lb-ft; the benchmark sprint came up in a mediocre 4.8 seconds, while top speed was a more acceptable 304 km/h or 190 mph.
The video posted below shows two of these uber-rare fiberglass-bodied machines, one of which is wearing the US stars and stripes, being featured in magazines back in the day, while the other one is yellow. The latter is the car that is driven, and while it may lack the purity of the true Italians, it still looks very interesting, even all these years after it was launched and quickly phased out due to its high price.
Perhaps it’s better that there are very few of these, and it makes it all the more interesting. Besides, if they really wanted to make more of them, something should definitely have been done about that interior which, even by (low) mid-nineties American standards of quality looked quite nasty…
By Andrei Nedelea
Story References: YouTube via Autoblog/com
VIDEO