Chrysler chief executive Dieter Zetsche says the US manufacturer will “more likely than not” put its Detroit Motor Show smash hit – the ME Four-Twelve supercar – into production.
Chrysler chief executive Dieter Zetsche says the US manufacturer will “more likely than not” put its Detroit Motor Show smash hit – the ME Four-Twelve supercar – into production.
Zetsche told that Chrysler would be making a final decision about the car at the end of this year, and that they were still considering what volume, and pricing, would be appropriate.
However, it would not be built in one of Chrysler’s own factories, said Zetsche “We are in talks with partners who are interested in building it. But it must make sense.”
It has been hailed as the most advanced Chrysler ever built and at the heart of the rear-wheel drive, mid-engine ME is its all-aluminium, quad-turbo, six-litre V12 engine. With electronic sequential multipoint fuel injection and a 9.0:1 compression ratio, the AMG-developed engine delivers 634 kW at 5 750 r/min, with 1 150 N.m of torque between 2 500 and 4 500 r/min.
According to the manufacturer, the ME can accelerate from zero to 96 km/h in 2,9 seconds, zero to 160 km/h in 6,2 seconds and it will blister through the quarter mile in 10,6 seconds at 228,5 km/h. The estimated top speed of the ME Four-Twelve is 400 km/h.
The seven-speed Ricardo double clutch transmission was developed specifically for this vehicle and incorporates double wet-clutch technology and electronic control. It delivers uninterrupted torque to the rear wheels with 200 millisecond shift times.
The Chrysler Group partnered up with other industry giants to develop the ME Four-Twelve in under a year.
According to , the case for building the ME Four-Twelve may well be helped by DaimlerChrysler’s improving finances: in the second quarter this year, it recorded a fivefold increase in net profit and higher profits than either Ford or General Motors, despite slipping earnings at Mercedes-Benz (operating profits down 18 per cent).