Chrysler has pulled the plug on the possibility of building the ME Four-Twelve supercar (AW, Jan. 12, 2004).

Chrysler first showed the car at last year’s Detroit show and at the time called it a production prototype. The company said it would build the 850 hp monster if, after a doing a financial study, the car could make money. That study was concluded Monday (Jan. 3). Spokesman Jason Vines said the supercar would simply be too expensive to make and market. The ME Four-Twelve was then chief operating officer Wolfgang Bernhard’s baby.

Bernhard has since left Daimler-Chrysler and will begin work at VW next month. The supercar certainly had the specs to make enthusiasts drool: Mid-mounted, 6.0-liter AMG-built V12, 850 hp, zero to 60 in 2.9 seconds.

At the show last year Barnhard told AutoWeek the car had enormous value for the company even if it never gets built. “This is an engineering feat,” he said then. “The most difficult test you can put engineers to is a supercar or race car done in less than a year. Designers will look to this vehicle as a guiding star for other Chryslers.”

Chrysler will show another sports car, the Firepower, at this year’s show.



-Matt-