- Based on a Lamborghini Diablo chassis, and powered by a 5.7-liter V12, Vector built just 14 M12s in the 1990s.
- This example was featured in a period review on Top Gear, and was driven by Jeremy Clarkson.
- With just 4,400 miles on the odometer, this M12 has recently undergone a series of small, but important, repairs.
It takes guts to take a Lamborghini Diablo and try to create something even more extreme, but that’s exactly what Vector tried to do in the ’90s with the M12. As it turns out, that’s not a great business model, but it does lead to an interesting car, one of which is now being offered for sale on Bring a Trailer.
Vector was founded in 1971 by Gerald Wiegert after he spent just one year working as a design consultant for Chrysler, Ford, and GM. By 1994, his company was taken from him as part of a hostile takeover by an Indonesian company called Megatech, which also owned Lamborghini at the time.
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It was under Megatech’s leadership that the M12 was created. Based on a lengthened version of the Lamborghini Diablo’s chassis, it sports exotic carbon-reinforced fiberglass bodywork. Power also came from Lamborghini, in the form of a 5.7-liter V12 that made 492 hp (367 kW / 499 PS) and 425 lb-ft (576 Nm) of torque.
The car was impressive enough to catch the eye of the motoring press around the world, including Top Gear. According to the sales page, this is the exact example that was featured on the show, and was driven by Jeremy Clarkson.
That may seem surprising, but the odds of this being the one that was featured on the show weren’t exactly long. Vector only managed to build 14 production examples of the M12 before going bust (17 if you count the three prototypes).
After being featured on Top Gear, the car was eventually bought by an owner who liked it enough to keep it for 13 years. It was picked up by the seller in 2018, who has only driven it 500 miles (805 km), meaning that the odometer shows just 4,400 miles (7,081 km) today.
In their time with the car, the seller spent some money on it, repainting the front bumper and rear deck lid to address cracks and chips. It has also received some mechanical care in recent years, as its power steering system was restored, the brakes were spruced up, and the exhaust system was replaced with a custom unit — the original pipes are included in the sale, though.
So the car has wild looks, a spicy backstory, was driven by Jeremy Clarkson, has low mileage, and was recently given some much-needed attention. No wonder the highest bid at Bring a Trailer has reached, at the time of writing, $231,000.
