Taken from an Edmonds Video in the NY Times:
Chrysler ME Four-Twelve Prototype
Date Posted 01-04-2004
What Is It?
Chrysler ME Four-Twelve Prototype
What's Special About It?
Evidently, DaimlerChrysler executives couldn't sit idly by as Ford took its
GT supercar from concept to 2005 production car. And so on the first day of
the big show in Detroit, they surprised the tightly packed crowd by
unveiling one of their own, the ME Four-Twelve.
"ME" stands for midengine, while "Four-Twelve" refers the car's 6.0-liter,
12-cylinder engine force-fed by four turbochargers. The engine, by the way,
was developed with the help of the elite AMG performance division of
Mercedes-Benz. Output is rated at an incredible 850 horsepower at 5,750 rpm
and 850 pound-feet of torque from 2,500 to 4,500 rpm. With a curb weight of
2,800 pounds, the ME Four-Twelve has a power-to-weight of one horsepower for
every 3.4 pounds of car. It's hard to get your mind around numbers like
these, but the projected acceleration numbers are cause for faint-hearted
enthusiasts to take a chair: The ME is said to be capable of pulling a
2.9-second 0-to-60-mph run and a 10.6-second quarter-mile at 142 mph. Top
speed is 248 mph. Power flows to the 20-inch rear wheels via a seven-speed
Ricardo double wet-clutch transmission. Drivers will use Formula One-style
shift paddles to change gears.
It goes without saying that the ME Four-Twelve is constructed of extremely
lightweight materials ‹ carbon fiber and aluminum ‹ that give it the rigid
foundation necessary for supercar reflexes. The suspension employs a double
wishbone design, and the compression and rebound that result from cornering
forces are electronically controlled. The braking system makes use of
15-inch ventilated carbon ceramic rotors. The wheels measure 19 by 10 inches
in front and 20 by 12.5 inches in back, and are respectively fitted with
265/35 and 335/30 Michelins. Inside the cockpit, designers allowed plenty of
the car's carbon-fiber structure to show through, but company executives
noted that all surfaces likely to come into contact with the car's occupants
are covered in fine-quality materials.
What's Edmunds' Take?
Chrysler executives were adamant that the ME Four-Twelve is a prototype, not
a concept, and insist that it will be road-ready by the summer of 2004.
Besides providing the company with considerable bragging rights, the
prospect of a production car gives well-to-do Mopar enthusiasts a new reason
to dream. ‹ Erin Riches
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