Chrysler ME 4-12 not to go into production!

[Pimp racer]

WOW this kinda sucks. I bet it would have been a bit suscessful! (SP?)

Thursday, January 6, 2005

DaimlerChrysler puts brakes on concept car

Chrysler sports vehicle costs too much to mass produce while the firm is rebuilding, official says.

By Brett Clanton / The Detroit News

After a year of study, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group decided this week not to build the Chrysler ME Four-Twelve sports car, a concept vehicle billed as the fastest street car in the world.

The Auburn Hills automaker unveiled the sleek super car in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show last year as a "production prototype" and said it would build the 850-horsepower rocket in low numbers if it made financial sense.

Chrysler killed the project after an internal study completed Monday showed that building and marketing the car would cost "hundreds of millions of dollars" at a time when the company is still rebuilding, said spokesman Jason Vines.

Named for its mid-engine design, four turbo chargers and 12-cylinder engine, its top speed is 248 mph.

"We're proud of the excitement it generated around the world," Vines said. "But we could not make a legitimate business case for it."

Chrysler may also have less need for the hot sports car than it did a year ago. Last year at this time Chrysler was just completing a three-year restructuring, profits were down and new models such as the Chrysler 300 sedan had not yet hit the market. The ME Four-Twelve seemed the perfect distraction from the company's woes.

Today, however, Chrysler is entering this month's Detroit auto show from a position of strength, ending 2004 with a 3.7 percent increase in sales and a 13 percent U.S. market share, up from 12.8 percent the year before, according to Autodata Corp.

Yet many consumers still give Chrysler poor marks for the quality, reliability and durability of its cars and trucks. Investing money in those areas is smarter than building a super car, even if the model could add prestige to the Chrysler name, said David Hofer, chief executive of Above All, a marketing and brand communications firm in Birmingham.

"Branding is only as good as the promise you live up to," he said.

The ME Four-Twelve was a pet project of former Chrysler Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Bernhard, who takes charge of Germany's Volkswagen brand next month. At the Detroit auto show last year, Bernhard said that in an auto market crowded with a dizzying variety of choices, vehicles like the ME Four-Twelve are needed to get customers' attention. Chrysler will unveil another high-end sports car concept at the Detroit auto show this month. The Chrysler Firepower is a rear-wheel-drive coupe based on the Dodge Viper with a 425-horsepower engine and an estimated top speed of 185 mph.
Credit - http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosins.../C06-51812.htm

[d-quik]

FORD GT90'd!!!!!

...sorry

[CdocZ]

daaaaamiiiiiiit! america might have held the top speed record for a bit for once!

[Rockefella]

They are absolute morons. I have no other words for Daimler-Chrysler. Actually, I do have some words... since I understand where they're coming from.... but when is a god damn American company going to take a supercar-risk?

[TheOne]

with the saleen S7 TT rockefella.......it allready beats the enzo.

[ScionDriver]

NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!! It was a GOOD Chrysler, for the first time like....EVER!

[Rockefella]

Originally Posted by TheOne

with the saleen S7 TT rockefella.......it allready beats the enzo.

I know, but that's only one supercar that even compares to European rivals. (The Enzo would prob. rape it around the track anyway imo) America has nothing else, and Saleen is hardly even a company, it's a tuner.

[F1_Master]

I agree with TheOne. Saleen's new TT S7 already shoots itself faster than Italy's best.

[TheOne]

its a company.....it creates its own car......even though it also tunes other cars.
and there should be a race between both to see if the enzo really kicks the ass of the S7.

[Street_Dreamer]

the only American supercar apart from the saleen, and it gets cancelled, damn, i guess the new Zonda's kinda like, the replacement, although not as fast...

[andy.muc]

Originally Posted by Street_Dreamer

the only American supercar apart from the saleen, and it gets cancelled, damn, i guess the new Zonda's kinda like, the replacement, although not as fast...

The question is: how much of the 4-12 is really American?
Chassis by Pagani? Engine by M-B? Badge by Chrysler!

[:Exige:]

Originally Posted by andy.muc

The question is: how much of the 4-12 is really American?
Chassis by Pagani? Engine by M-B? Badge by Chrysler!

Exactly. Im not very trusting of the 248mph top speed estimate. Its not as easy as whacking in 850bhp and driving .. theres downforce to consider and from what Ive seen, the underbody isnt looking good. May be being a bit stupid .. but ive not really taken American top speed figures seriously because they just claim that it can go really fast for publicity then makes the production version not that fast. For example .. the Ford Shelby Cobra thingy .. 250mph? that is physichally impossible for that design and everyone knows it. As for Saleen S7 TT .. still claims. Ill believe it when they take it round Nardo.

[6'bore]

I'd like to see how that thing would do round a track. Maybe it would have been acar that could beat an enzo round the top gear test track?

[Street_Dreamer]

Originally Posted by andy.muc

The question is: how much of the 4-12 is really American?
Chassis by Pagani? Engine by M-B? Badge by Chrysler!

it's still american, common, they dont have many supercars there... lol, the Zondas pretty much the production ME 4-12 just slightly slower, and chrysler had gone 210mph in 5th gear, with 6th and 7th gears left....

[andy.muc]

Originally Posted by Street_Dreamer

...the Zondas pretty much the production ME 4-12 just slightly slower...

No it's not.

Originally Posted by Coventrysucks

The Chassis is made by Pagani.
It isn't a Zonda.