The Vector M12 occupies a category all its own. It was the first and only American production car to combine a V-12 engine with a manual transmission. Unmistakably a product of the 1990s, the M12 represented an adventurous attempt to build something America had never offered before.
Just 17 M12s were produced, three of which were concepts, with only 14 customer cars completed by 1999. But even among such limited company, one stands apart: the VIN 001 1996 Vector M12, known as “American Anthem.”
The story behind it begins long before the M12 existed.
Jerry Wiegert’s pursuit of an American supercar didn’t really begin until 1978 when he renamed his fledgling company to Vector Aeromotive and debut the W2 concept. By 1989, Vector had started production of the W8, an evolution of that original concept. Two W8 prototypes were created, followed by approximately 22 production vehicles.
Wiegert continued pushing his idea forward. By 1992, he had developed the Vector WX-3 coupe, followed by the Avtech WX-3R roadster in 1993. Only one prototype of each was completed before Vector entered one of the most dramatic chapters in its history.
MegaTech became Vector’s primary shareholder and ousted Wiegert from the company he had founded. The dispute became contentious, with reports that Wiegert barricaded himself inside Vector’s California headquarters for several days before legal action forced him to leave.
Wiegert did not walk away empty-handed. He successfully retained the copyrights and design rights to the Avtech WX-3, preventing MegaTech from putting his latest design into production.
That left Vector’s new ownership with a name and the challenge of creating its own successor to the W8. The circumstances also presented an extraordinary opportunity: MegaTech also owned Lamborghini at the time.
Vector was relocated to Florida, where it shared space with Lamborghini. As a result, the new M12 received a lengthened Lamborghini Diablo chassis and the Diablo’s naturally aspirated V-12.
The result was a machine unlike anything else being produced in the United States. Before Vector could sell it, however, the company needed to introduce it. That responsibility fell to VIN 001, which is offered with No Reserve at Barrett-Jackson’s 2027 Scottsdale Auction, Jan. 23-31 at WestWorld.
The 1996 Vector M12 known as “American Anthem” is the first production M12. Beneath its exterior sits a mid-mounted Lamborghini 5.7-liter quad-cam V-12 producing 492 horsepower, paired with a ZF five-speed manual transmission and gated shifter.
Vector wanted everyone to know it was still an American supercar.
Designer Michael Santoro was tasked with turning VIN 001 into a show car for the M12’s public debut. According to Santoro, Vector CEO D. Peter Rose wanted something capable of generating publicity, emphasizing that the M12 was being produced in the United States and providing a visual target for the company’s planned racing program.
Santoro found his inspiration in one of the most recognizable symbols imaginable: the American flag.
“My idea was not to simply apply the stars and stripes to the show car but to have the car appear to have driven through ‘Old Glory’ itself in a fit of speed and emotion,” Santoro explained on his website.
VIN 001 made its public debut at the 1996 Detroit Auto Show before making another memorable appearance on pit lane at the 1996 24 Hours of Daytona. In later years, it was also displayed at the Petersen Automotive Museum.
Triple intake scoops positioned ahead of each rear wheel feed the M12’s dramatic mid-engine proportions, while a rear spoiler and triple-vented dual exhaust outlets finish the shape. Multipiece staggered-width 18-inch three-spoke wheels wear Pirelli P Zero performance tires.
The “American Anthem” treatment continues inside VIN 001. Bucket seats are upholstered in leather with white piping, and blue suede spans the dashboard and upper door trim, complemented by matching carpeting.
Ahead of the leather-wrapped steering wheel is a 220-mph speedometer and tachometer, accompanied by gauges monitoring the essentials.
Vector’s M12 era proved short-lived. After MegaTech sold Lamborghini, Vector lost access to the V-12 that powered the M12 and could not continue production. The company responded with a new vehicle, but the comeback lasted only days: shortly after the concept made its public debut, Vector shut its doors. Wiegert later recovered some of the company’s assets and presented a new prototype in 2008. But it never made it into production. Wiegert ultimately passed away in 2021.
With Vector’s later revival attempts never reaching production, the M12 remained the company’s final completed supercar. Nearly 30 years after he first hand-painted the car, Santoro recently performed a cosmetic restoration of VIN 001’s exterior, reconnecting the M12 with the artist responsible for one of its defining characteristics. Remarkably, the car has accumulated just 1,055 miles over three decades.
The M12 emerged from one of the most unconventional periods in American supercar history and allowed Vector to create something that had never existed before – and hasn’t existed since. Three decades later, the M12 remains the first and only American production V-12 manual.
VIN 001 was the first production M12 and represents an extraordinary moment when Vector still believed an American supercar could play by its own rules.
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