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The Vector M12 is a sports car manufactured by Vector Aeromotive under parent company
Megatech ''MegaTech'' (sometimes styled with the katakana メガテケ) was a publication from EMAP aimed specifically at the Sega Mega Drive gaming market. The magazine was started in 1991. The launch editorial consisted of a small team including Pau ...
, and was the first car produced after the
hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to t ...
of the company from Jerry Wiegert by the
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. In ...
n company
Megatech ''MegaTech'' (sometimes styled with the katakana メガテケ) was a publication from EMAP aimed specifically at the Sega Mega Drive gaming market. The magazine was started in 1991. The launch editorial consisted of a small team including Pau ...
. The model was produced from 1995 to 1999, when production was halted due to slow sales of the car. The production totaled 17 units including the prototypes.


History and specifications

The car was based on the
Lamborghini Diablo The Lamborghini Diablo is a high-performance Mid-engine design, mid-engine sports car built by Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini between 1990 and 2001. It is the first production Lamborghini capable of attaining a top speed in excess ...
utilising most of its mechanical components and its V12 engine as Megatech owned Lamborghini at that time and took such steps to produce the car in higher volumes at a low cost. The engine was centrally mounted in front of the gearbox rather than behind it as in the Lamborghini. The styling was a loose copy of the AWX-3, which was a still born project due to the Megatech takeover and later infringed by former company owner Wiegert after he initiated lawsuits and patented the designs to avoid them being reused. The new owners, Megatech, hired designer Peter Stevens to create a more civilised and modern recreation of the AWX-3. The drivetrain was a
Lamborghini V12 engine The Lamborghini V12 refers to the flagship V12 engine used by Lamborghini. Lamborghini has had two generations of V12 engines through their history, both of which were developed in-house. The first-generation Lamborghini V12 was a sixty degree (60 ...
, which had a power output of at 5,200 rpm and of torque at 4,900 rpm. This differed from the twin-turbocharged Rodeck V8 engine in the W8 and the AWX-3, as they were considered to be too costly for series production of the new model. The W8 and AWX-3's engines were transversely mounted, unlike the M12's V12 which was longitudinally mounted. The engineering changes placed the cockpit slightly forward than in the AWX-3, with a shorter nose and longer tail. The M12 was able to accelerate from in 4.8 seconds and had a top speed of .


Production

Megatech intended the M12 to be a more road-friendly version of the AWX-3, which could get up to 13 miles per gallon of fuel efficiency. 17 cars were produced in total, which included three or four pre-production models and 14 production models. One of the M12 pre-production cars was converted to
motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...
specification by the factory, but did not perform successfully due to mechanical problems. This car would again be converted, this time into the SRV8 that was intended to be the successor to the M12. The M12 production run ended in 1999 when Vector could not pay Lamborghini for the engines. Lamborghini took a W8 as payment, but Wiegert litigated for ownership of that car and won the case. Though the car was not returned.


In the media

The Vector M12 earned the inauspicious award from ''
Autoweek ''Autoweek'' is a car culture publication based in Detroit, Michigan. It was first published in 1958 and in 1977 the publication was purchased by Crain Communications Inc, its current parent company. The magazine was published weekly and focused ...
'' Magazine as being the worst car ever tested in the history of ''AutoWeek''. In a retrospective, ''CarThrottle'' described the M12 as a "botch job" and noted, "would-be customers found it hard to justify spending $189,000 on a canoe-bodied car that was slower, uglier and of lesser build-quality than he Lamborghini Diablo" MSN Autos included the M12 on its list of "The World's Worst Supercars". The M12 is featured in a number of video games, including: * ''
Gran Turismo 2 ''Gran Turismo 2'' is a 1999 racing game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the sequel to '' Gran Turismo''. It was well-received critically and financially, shipping 1.71  ...
'', as both the production version and as an LM edition; * '' Mercedes Benz World Racing'', as a downloadable car * '' Sports Car GT'' * ''San Francisco Rush'' * '' Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA''


References

{{Vector Motors Vector Motors Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sports cars Cars introduced in 1995 Cars of the United States