I have exciting news!
I have compelling evidence to show that Vigilante 8 is influencing the Abilities, Ultimate’s, and even the Appearances of Overwatch heroes! Lets dive right in!
Weapon Specials
Vigilante 8
Slick Clyde’s White Lightening - This looks very similar to Winston’s main Telsa Cannon.
Sheila’s Firestorm - This Special uses Sheila’s minigun at a high-rate of fire and the bullets will push enemies away from you. This is just like Roadhog’s Whole Hog Ultimate.
John Torque’s Bass Quake - This Special is a super subwoofer sonic boom that sends enemies outward. Whats cool about this special is that it seems to have been used for three Ultimate’s in Overwatch. First, Lucio’s Sound Barrier works similar but it shields teammates instead of causing damage to enemies like in V8 (the game). Second, its most similar to Reinhart’s Earthshatter. Lastly, Venture’s Ultimate is Tectonic Shock, similar to Reinhart’s/John Torque’s Ultimate but more focused and directional.
Convoy’s Steel Gopher - This is one of the best matches out of all of them. Convoy releases several rubber tires, one at a time, that home in on the enemy and explode! This is of course a direct parallel to Junkrat’s Rip-Tire. Whats also interesting is Convoy’s name as the main objective for certain games in OW2 is escorting a convoy. Could the “gopher” name be a reference to Junkrat (both rodents?). Also the “Steel” in Junkrat’s “Steel Trap” could be a reference to Convoy’s Ultimate.
Houston’s Death Ray - Her Special is a powerful raygun that shoots in a precise, forward direction. Her character and her Ultimate remind me of Sojourn and her “Overclock” Railgun Ultimate.
Sid Burn’s Incinerator - This Special is a large cannon that shoots artillery shells. Could have been inspiration for Bastion’s new Configuration: Artillery Ultimate.
Y the Alien Gamma Ray - Similar weapon to Houston’s Death Ray. Therefore, inspiration for Sojourn as well.
Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense
Houston’s Tow Twister - This changed Special is a hook that grabs onto other enemies vehicles and tows them! This is essentially the same thing as Roadhog’s Special weapon, his Chain Hook.
Convoy’s Rolling Thunder - This changed Special is a sonic blast that pushes enemies away using powerful horns on the front of the truck. This is very similar to Lucio’s Soundwave ability.
Lord Clyde’s Chain Lightening - This special is an electric bolt that emits from the back of his vehicle and damages the enemy and spreads to other close-proximity enemies. This is just like Winston’s Telsa Cannon.
Obake’s Rift Blade - This Special turns Obake’s vehicle into a giant blade and then she charges an enemy vehicle at high-speed. This special is just like Genji’s Dragonblade.
Astronaut Bob O.'s Collector - This Special picks up an enemy vehicle then thrashing them with these robotic arms. Whats interesting is that Astronaut Bob O. is an intelligent monkey in a space suit who operates this Moon Rover vehicle. These details are very similar to Winston and his Primal Rage Ultimate!
Chassey Blue’s Starpower - This Special is a satellite that she launches from her vehicle that attacks an enemy by vertically beaming down a powerful beam. This Special is just like Juno’s Orbital Ray. But since Juno is a Support hero, her Ultimate heals teammates instead of damaging enemies.
Padre Destino’s Hades Gate - This Special opens up a hole in the ground using “dark magic” and Padre’s vehicle goes underground then pops up and damages an enemy vehicle when it reemerges from underground. This Special is just like Venture’s Burrow ability where she burrows underground then pops up to damage enemies.
Dusty "Earth"s Tribal Magic - This Special releases a large eagle that attacks the enemy. This Special could be Kiriko’s Kitsune Rush as both have to do with magical animals. I bit of a stretch, but some correlation there.
Its also worth noting that when each character uses their Special, they verbally shout out the name of their Special or some other vocal sound effect, just like Overwatch!
Character similarities
Vigilante 8
Chassey Blue looks like Mercy.
Sheila kinda reminds me of D.Va. Also they have similar-sounding names.
John Torque looks very similar to Baptise. I would say they are a really close match.
Convoy kinda reminds me of both Roadhog and Cassidy. I bet the devs spilt the character into 2.
Loki kinda looks like Junkrat.
Houston looks like Sojourn from the 70’s.
Boogie looks like Solider: 76 from the 70’s.
Beezwax and Molo also look like Roadhog. Similar themes and attributes.
Sid Burn looks a lot like Reaper.
Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense Characters
Sheila looks just like D.Va’s Waverunner skin.
Convoy looks like Cassidy.
Dallas 13 is a cowboy robot that looks a lot like B.O.B.
Nina Loco looks pretty similar to Sombra.
Molo is like Roadhog.
Lord Clyde come be Sigma.
Obake is like a female Genji.
Astronaut Bob O. is like a tiny Winston.
Garbage Man could also be influence for Roadhog.
Agent R. Chase looks like Cassidy.
Padre Destino kinda looks like Junkrat.
Venture
The most damning evidence is Venture. With Venture’s Burrow Ability, like Padre Destino’s Hades Gate (both are Latin American, by the way) and Venture’s Tectonic Shock ability, like John Torque’s Bass Boom, Venture is a great example how multiple ideas from Vigilante 8 were used in OW2. But the icing on the video game cake is Venture’s neck. On Venture’s neck is a tattoo of black flames. Flame decals are a very common motif in Vigilante 8. Flames are even in the logo (but red colored, not black). In the lore, Venture is into welding which is why they has the flame tattoo on themz neck. Welding is, of course, a common manufacturing process used in automobile modification, a common theme in Vigilante 8.
Route 66
Like Venture, the Route 66 map has tons of references to the game. The old diner, the sick tongue-in-cheek jokes on the wall in the diner, the roadway, military remnants, alien UFO part (like Y the Alien and his Flying Saucer), SW American desert (most maps in V8 are in the desert). This map could easily be turned into a Vigilante 8 map and feel very much true to the game.
Many heroes in OW2 seem to have no connection to Vigilante 8. Perhaps they were influenced by Twisted Metal, a game I know just the basics about?
The deep search continues! 
