1992 Dodge Viper Drag Races Vector W8 Supercar, It's Not Even Close

Enter the Vector W8 from Vector Aeromotive, a company that was earlier known as Vector Car and Vehicle Design Force. Masterminded by founder Jerry Wiegert, who sadly passed away in 2021 at the age of 76, the W8 was intended to take on high-priced Italian exotics such as the superb Ferrari F40.

Unfortunately for Jerry and Vector Aeromotive, that was not to be. A little over 20 units were produced between 1989 and 1993, of which only 17 were sold to customers. The biggest issue of the W8 is the automatic transmission, which – as Mat Watson correctly states in the video below – is a sluggish three-speed automatic. Originally developed for the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, the Turbo-Hydramatic 425 was also used in the Cortez Motorhome, the GMC Motorhome, and Revon motorhomes.

Said transmission hinders the 6.0-liter V8, a Rodeck engine with a pair of Garrett-supplied turbochargers. Vector advertised the mid-engine supercar with 625 horsepower and nearly 650 pound-feet (880 Nm) of torque. Similar to the Lamborghini Miura, various Ferrari Dino models, the Lancia Stratos, and Toyota MR2, said engine is mounted transversally.

Tipping the scales at 3,320 pounds or 1,506 kilograms if you prefer the metric system, the W8 was projected to reach 242 miles per hour (389 kilometers per hour) at full chatter. The older W2 prototype clocked that very speed with a less powerful Donovan block and the very same three-speed automatic at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

Unfortunately, said transmission requires way more than a quarter mile for the W8 to max out. Pictured with Chris from the Caretaker Collection behind the wheel, the 1993 Vector W8 in the video below couldn't do better than 13.7 seconds in the quarter as opposed to 12.2 for Mat in the stick-shift Viper.

Lighter but less powerful and not as torquey as the mid-engine rarity, the Viper asserted dominance from a roll as well. Rolling to the start line at low speed or mashing the gas pedal at 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour) didn't make much of a difference, although the W8 was much closer to the Viper than from a standing start. Then again, the roll races covered half a mile rather than a quarter.

Vector Aeromotive shuttered in 1993, only to be revived as Vector Motors Corporation. Jerry's final project was the WX8, which promised a frankly ludicrous 1,850 horsepower from an LS7-based supercharged V8 and 275 miles per hour (443 kilometers per hour) on full song.

As for the Dodge Viper, can you believe that Stellantis actually sold two brand-new Vipers in 2023? The truth of the matter is, the Viper isn't coming back anytime soon. Dodge has also discontinued the HEMI-powered Charger and Challenger, although the Charger will come back in late 2024 for the 2025 model year as a three-door liftback with either TT I6 or all-electric muscle.