The American Supercar With an Italian Heart

Engineer Marmiroli introduces a little-known chapter of automotive history, where Italian engineering and American ambition unexpectedly merged in the Vector M12. Words Luigi Marmiroli

Images Courtesy of Luigi Marmiroli Archive

I hope the story I am about to tell will be of interest to the passionate readers of Insight. It is a surprising tale involving two automotive companies whose paths began running in parallel as early as 1971, only to intersect in a way that would have been almost unimaginable—twenty-five years later, in 1996.

The first was Vector Motor, a tiny Californian automotive manufacturer founded by Gerald Wiegert, driven by the ambitious belief that an American company could build high-performance cars capable of competing with the European supercar elite: Porsche, Lotus, Ferrari, and Lamborghini. I say was because, after a troubled and often turbulent existence, the company ceased operations following the death of its founder in 2021.

Vector’s first prototype, the W2, made its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Expo in 1972. It was far from complete and openly blended design elements inspired by the Bertone Carabo and, above all, by the then-new Lamborghini Countach. Not coincidentally, both cars had been designed by Marcello Gandini—well known to all of us.

Financial difficulties, combined with the founder’s singular personality, meant that Vector’s first production car arrived only much later and in very limited numbers. In 1989, the Vector W8 finally entered production.

The second company in this story was, unsurprisingly, a very young Lamborghini Automobili, at the very moment it was giving birth to the mythical Countach. The first production LP400 was unveiled in 1973, and its own story is no less peculiar. The car shown was finished in a classic red and subsequently seemed to vanish into the fog of time. Meanwhile, a stunning Countach LP400 painted in a brilliant shade of green circulated in Europe and was long believed to be a second example. When the car was brought from Switzerland back to Lamborghini for restoration, the Polo Storico discovered traces of the original red paint beneath the green—and confirmed that the chassis was, in fact, number one.

In the early 1990s, another parallel emerges. Lamborghini presented the outrageous Diablo Roadster Concept at the Geneva Motor Show, once again penned by Gandini,

while Vector unveiled its own roadster concept, the WX3.

We arrive, finally, at 1994—the year in which the two companies became closely linked. At the beginning of that year, Chrysler sold Lamborghini Automobili, marking the brand’s fourth change of ownership in its history. The new owner was Megatech, an offshoot of Sedtco Ltd., an Indonesian group led by Setiawan Djody—popular singer and businessman—and Tommy Suharto, son of the then president of the vast Asian archipelago.

At the same time, Megatech also became the majority shareholder of Vector Aeromotive. As the American company was struggling to source suitable engines on the market, the shared ownership persuaded Lamborghini—despite a certain reluctance on the part of us engineers—to adapt the Diablo’s engine for use in the Californian supercar.

Thus was born the Vector M12: a true “connection car” between Lamborghini and Vector.

The project presented significant technical challenges. Beyond installing the engine itself, the Vector required modifications to the chassis, oil and water cooling systems, fuel delivery, and the entire exhaust system, including catalytic converters. All of this demanded close and not always easy collaboration between Italian and American engineers.

Responsibilities were therefore divided. Lamborghini was in charge of the electronic fuel injection, engine management electronics, fuel tank, and complete exhaust system.

Under Lamborghini’s supervision—but executed by Vector—were the clutch and gearbox (different from those used in the Diablo), along with the necessary chassis modifications.

At the time, Peter Stevens—the renowned British car designer known for his work with McLaren, Lotus, and Jaguar—had moved to Sant’Agata Bolognese to provide stylistic support for our projects. As a result, the styling revisions of the Vector M12 were entrusted to him by the shared shareholders. I must admit that the outcome achieved on the M12 surpassed the results of some of his interventions on our Lamborghini projects.

I still keep the media kit from the car’s world debut in 1996, which opens with these words:

“Detroit (January 2, 1996) – Making its worldwide debut on the 100th anniversary of the first American production automobile, the exciting American-bred Vector M12 sports coupe is officially launched at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. With this introduction, Jacksonville, Florida-based Vector Aeromotive Corporation breaks away from the tradition that all exotic sports cars originate in Europe.”

The media kit went on to describe, in detail, the project’s exceptional technical, aesthetic, functional, and aerodynamic qualities. Naturally, it enthusiastically praised the performance of our engine—carefully avoiding any explicit mention that it was, in fact, the very same unit used in the Lamborghini Diablo. Although the entire automotive world was well aware of the reality, this omission initially surprised and annoyed me.

I was soon reassured by the closing lines of the media kit:

“These cars will all be designed to satisfy the dreams of the discerning automotive enthusiast—cars that stimulate the passion of driving—a passion that can only be satisfied by exquisitely designed and produced machinery.”

Those words closely echoed what I myself had declared at the worldwide presentation of the Lamborghini Diablo six years earlier. In that sense, the Diablo’s philosophy had been successfully transferred to this new car, confirming that the heart transplant performed on the Vector M12 would work perfectly—without the feared rejection.

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Luigi Marmiroli was born in Fiorano Modenese in 1945. After graduating in mechanical engineering at the University of Padua, in 1970 he was hired by Ferrari to introduce electronic computing to Maranello for the first time. In 1976 he founded Fly Studio with Giacomo Caliri, designing and managing competition cars on international circuits. Their main works were for Fittipaldi Copersucar, Autodelta, ATS and Minardi, with whom they joined forces. The developments in the partnership with Autodelta led Marmiroli to manage the technical unit of the Euroracing team in 1983. Two years later he was hired by Lamborghini to design the heir of the Countach. Other projects came after the 17 versions of the Diablo, though due to the continuing changes of ownership of the Sant’Agata based company, they were never put into production. Marmiroli relaunched Fly Studio in 1997, providing consulting services. One of the projects of the last few years is the development of microcars, quadbikes and commercial vehicles, including electric versions.