- Chrysler’s ME Four-Twelve was a 2004 mid-engine concept with an 850hp V12.
- An independent designer has subtly refreshed the supercar with tasteful updates.
- Stellantis design boss says the company will experiment with the Chrysler brand.
The Chrysler ME Four-Twelve might just be the most fascinating supercar you’ve never seen on the road. A rare mix of outrageous performance and serious engineering, it showed up, flexed hard, then vanished just as quickly. It remains, perhaps, the ultimate American ‘what if’ supercar.
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Read: Chrysler Celebrates 100 Years By Slapping A Sticker On A Minivan
But let’s rewind the clock. Back in 2004, during the DaimlerChrysler era, Chrysler dropped jaws when it rolled out the ME Four-Twelve, a fully operational concept that looked like it had all the ingredients to become America’s next great halo car. But despite looking production-ready and packing a powertrain worthy of the big leagues, it never actually made it past the prototype phase.
When I was a kid, I used to love driving around in the ME Four-Twelve on Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition, and had it been built, it could have served as the perfect rival to the Ford GT of the time.
AMG Power and Unreal Performance Numbers
Rather than some parts-bin special, the ME Four-Twelve came with a 6.0-liter V12 based on the AMG M120 – yes, the same engine architecture that powered Mercedes’ finest and some early Paganis too. Chrysler engineers gave it twin turbochargers, dialed up the output to 850 horsepower (862 PS / 634 kW), and mated it to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission sending power to the rear wheels.
Weighing just 2,888 pounds (1,310 kg), the ME Four-Twelve was said to hit 0 to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and reach 100 mph in 6.2 seconds. It could cover the quarter-mile in 10.6 seconds and had a claimed top speed of 248 mph (399 km/h). Had it entered production, it would have been the fastest car in the world at the time. Even by today’s standards, those figures still hold their own in the hypercar arena.
And this wasn’t some non-functional motor show mockup. Chrysler actually built a fully drivable prototype and even let journalists get behind the wheel. It was real. It existed. And then… it didn’t.
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Chrysler Wanted to Build It. Sort Of
Chrysler’s top brass at the time, Dieter Zetsche and Wolfgang Bernhard, told MotorTrend in late 2004, “If the reception is positive, we are definitely going to build this baby.” Not exactly a commitment, but it sounded hopeful. Rumor had it that if the car made it to production, it would be priced anywhere from $250,000 to $750,000.
Zetsche added that Chrysler could work out costs depending on how many people signed up. Ten cars, 100 cars, 1,000 cars, everything was apparently on the table. “There’s no doubt” he’d greenlight the car, he told the magazine, if enough buyers were ready.
But of course, that never happened. The ME Four-Twelve faded into concept car lore, and Chrysler eventually faded into one of the saddest automakers on the market: a brand now propped up by a pair of differently named, but virtually identical minivans, trying to squeeze some excitement out of sticker packages and nostalgia.
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An Independent Renaissance
But what if, to help celebrate its ongoing 100th anniversary, Chrysler decided to revive the ME Four-Twelve? At a time when high-end, limited-run exotics are more common now than any time in the past, this could be the type of vehicle the company needs to save it from itself.
Illustrations Abimelec Design
This revitalized ME Four-Twelve comes from the mind of Abimelec Design and takes the original study, but adds some modern touches. Incredibly, while the overall design of the Chrysler is more than two decades old, it still looks absolutely brilliant.
The most obvious change made by the designer is the huge rear wing lifted from a Koenigsegg. It’s also been fitted with a new front splitter, an eye-catching orange paint scheme, and a set of new silver wheels. Found inside the cabin is a mixture of bright blue leather and Alcantara.
While we don’t ever expect to see a car like this being built, Stellantis design boss Ralph Gilles did recently reveal the conglomerate will “experiment” with the Chrysler brand. What that actually means is anyone’s guess, though it’s probably safe to assume it won’t involve anything as wild as the ME Four-Twelve.
John Halas contributed to this story.
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