WHEN CHRYSLER NEARLY TOOK ON THE BUGATTI VEYRON

In the early 2000s, the automotive world was about to witness a revolution in speed and engineering. Bugatti, newly under Volkswagen's ownership, was developing the Veyron, a vehicle that would define the word "hypercar" with its quad-turbocharged W16 engine and all-wheel drive system. The world was anxious to see the result of Bugatti's hard work, but little did we know another automaker was quietly working on a hypercar that nearly stole the Veyron's thunder.

Chrysler, known for economical sedans and minivans like the Pacifica, stunned the world in 2004 with the ME Four-Twelve concept, previewing a supercar that could have rivaled the mighty Veyron. The Daimler-Chrysler "merger" a few years prior had given the brand the performance pieces and confidence to tackle the project in secret, and it looked like the result had the potential to redefine the exotic supercar landscape. However, the car never went into production, and what looked like the most promising concept car in years was relegated to history. This is the story of how Chrysler once dared to challenge the status quo, and why it never happened.

The Daimler-Chrysler Merger Sets The Stage

First, we need to go back a little to understand how Chrysler had gotten to this point. In 1998, Chrysler and Daimler-Benz merged to form Daimler-Chrysler, a partnership that aimed to increase the competitiveness of both brands on a worldwide scale. The so-called "merger of equals" would turn out to be anything but, as it very quickly became apparent Chrysler was now a subsidiary of Mercedes and was treated as such. The result was about a decade of mismanagement that saw Chrysler end up on the verge of bankruptcy, but that's a story for another day.

Although it was a failure overall, one great thing that came out of it was that Chrysler now had access to more capital and a greater parts bin than ever before. The company grabbed the Mercedes SLK platform to create the Chrysler Crossfire, it borrowed the brand's 4Matic AWD setup for use in cars like the Dodge Magnum, and it even took bits from the W211 E-Class to create the LX platform that would spawn the likes of the Charger, 300, and Challenger.

However, this was just small stuff compared to the real firepower Chrysler now had access to. We're talking about fire-breathing V8 and V12 power plants and the company's advanced engineering techniques that created vehicles like the Mercedes-AMG CLK GTR and CL 63 AMG. Perhaps inspired by these new toys, frustrated with how the partnership was going, or a combination of both, Chrysler set off in secret creating a hypercar concept in record time that would not only surpass anything in the Daimler-Chrysler catalog but also go toe-to-toe with the most exotic vehicles in the world.

The ME Four-Twelve: Chrysler's World-Beating Hypercar

Revealed at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the ME Four-Twelve was unlike anything Chrysler had ever produced before or since. It stunned the world, as it had been conceived and created in less than a year, featuring a futuristic, almost cat-like appearance that looked ready to pounce thanks to its mid-engined design. The car featured a carbon fiber and aluminum honeycomb monocoque tub fitted with carbon fiber bodywork that bore very little resemblance to any other Chrysler at the time.

The car stood 44.9 inches tall, 78.7 inches wide, and 178.8 inches long and had a chiseled appearance that was honed in the wind tunnel to ensure aerodynamic excellence. The front splitter, underbody, and rear diffuser were honed for greater downforce at high speeds, and to aid them, a computer-actuated rear spoiler could articulate 100 mm, creating an extra 925 lbs of downforce at 186 mph.

This wasn't just a rolling chassis either, as the car featured a fully-thought-out interior that offered an elegant two-seat layout with luxury and sophistication unheard of by Chrysler. The carbon fiber tub could be seen throughout, but the rest of the interior was covered in leather and metal that looked like it belonged among the world's best exotics. It had automatic climate control, a high-end sound system, and adjustable everything to ensure that the car fit the driver, not the other way around. Lovely looks and touchpoints don't make a hypercar, however, as that final piece sat behind the driver in all of its 12-cylinder glory.

Chrysler Design, AMG Performance

Remember that parts bin we were talking about? This is when it came into play because the Four-Twelve's heart was pure AMG. Chrysler sought out the M275 twin-turbo V12 from Mercedes-AMG but wasn't thrilled with the performance, so two more turbochargers were slapped on to create a quad-turbocharged monster with electronic sequential multipoint fuel injection and a 9.0:1 compression ratio. The result was 850 horsepower and 850 lb-ft of torque sent strictly to the rear wheels, so tire shredding wasn't just likely, it was inevitable.

Paired with a 7-speed Ricardo double-clutch transmission, and armed with the car's low 2880 lbs curb weight, the car's claimed performance figures were staggering:

• 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds
• Quarter-mile in 10.6 seconds at 142.0 mph
• An estimated top speed of 248 mph, nearly identical to Bugatti’s projections for the Veyron

This is where the vehicle found its name, as ME stands for "mid-engined" and Four-Twelve stands for the quad-turbocharged V12. To handle all of that power, it used a double wishbone suspension with aluminum control arms, horizontally-opposed coil-over dampers with electronically controlled compression and rebound tuning, stainless-steel push rods, and a blade-configured anti-roll bar.

Six-piston calipers with 15-inch carbon-ceramic brakes up front (four-piston in the rear) and the massive 265/35ZR19 (front) and 335/30ZR20 (rear) tires handled the rest. All of that sounds like it adds up to a great hypercar, but it's impossible to know for sure unless you drive it, which Motortrend did at Laguna Seca raceway in 2003. The publication found the vehicle to be an exhilarating piece of machinery that could truly take on "the European supercar superstars."

Despite being down on power, at just 2,880 lbs, it was significantly lighter than the Veyron, which weighed nearly 4,200 pounds due to its complex engineering and AWD system. This weight advantage meant the ME Four-Twelve could theoretically achieve similar, if not superior, performance with less power and fewer drivetrain losses.

Why Chrysler's Greatest Concept Never Made Production

It seems that Chrysler thought of everything, and had even designed it to the cusp of being production-ready. The company had made it as close to the finish line as possible, as by the end it was mulling over production numbers (figures between 10 and 1,000 were discussed) and pricing ($250,000 to $750,000), but the result was a whole lot of nothing. It turns out, despite the overwhelming excitement surrounding the ME Four-Twelve, it was ultimately doomed from the start, with several factors contributing to its cancelation:

• Chrysler’s Financial Instability: Despite an improvement in its finances from 2000, Chrysler still wasn't in a great place financially, making it increasingly difficult to justify the production of an ultra-low-volume, high-cost hypercar.
• No Market for an American Hypercar: There were many supercars at the time commanding hundreds of thousands of dollars, but all came from established exotic supercar makers or companies with deep pockets. Chrysler didn't have the reputation to build a vehicle such as this, making the prospect of finding buyers a tough one.
• Daimler-Chrysler's Reluctance to Invest: While the concept demonstrated Chrysler’s potential, Mercedes wasn't eager to invest the money in a vehicle that would not only compete with its own cars but may turn out to be a commercial failure in its own right.

To that last point, there are even rumors Mercedes tanked the project because it was genuinely afraid its partner would upstage it. It turns out, despite being its "equal", Mercedes wasn't too keen on treating Chrysler like one. Whatever the real reason, however, the ME Four-Twelve remained a concept, a glimpse into an alternate reality where Chrysler challenged the world’s greatest hypercars. Today, it stands as one of the most exciting “what ifs” in automotive history, and a dream we wished Chrysler would have kept alive.

Sources: Stellantis, Motortrend

2025-02-11T06:26:52Z