In 2004, Chrysler dropped a bombshell at the Detroit Auto Show that had gearheads buzzing—the ME Four-Twelve, a mid-engine supercar gunning for titans like the Ferrari Enzo and Bugatti Veyron. Packing a quad-turbo V12 with 850 horsepower, a featherlight carbon-fiber body, and a futuristic, aggressive vibe, it was Chrysler’s wild bid to rewrite its image, but despite serious production buzz, it stayed a heartbreaking “what if.”
The ME Four-Twelve, named for its mid-engine setup and twelve-cylinder heart, was Chrysler’s swing for the fences. “We wanted to make a statement about Chrysler’s capability,” said Trevor Creed, former senior VP of Chrysler Group Design, in a 2006 Ward’s Auto chat. “This was about showing we could play at the highest level.” Sparked by then-president Wolfgang Bernhard’s vision for a halo car, it aimed to vault Chrysler into the supercar big leagues.
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Its 6.0-liter V12, a quad-turbo beast from Mercedes-Benz’s AMG crew, unleashed 850 horses through a seven-speed dual-clutch, promising a 0-60 mph blitz in 2.9 seconds and a 248-mph top speed—faster than the Enzo and neck-and-neck with the yet-to-launch Veyron. At just 2,880 pounds, thanks to a carbon-fiber shell and aluminum honeycomb chassis, it was a lightweight knockout, nearly 1,300 pounds leaner than the Veyron. “We designed it to be feasible,” said designer Brian Nielander in a 2023 autoevolution piece. “The goal was to create something that could realistically hit the road.”
The design was pure menace, low and wide with angular lines that looked ready to pounce, blending sleek aggression with a surprisingly practical interior. Built in a jaw-dropping sprint—under a year with prototype wizards Metalcrafters—it was no mere show pony but a drivable beast, loaded with carbon-fiber bits, active aero, and smart suspension. “It was a sprint,” a Chrysler spokesperson said in a 2004 press release. “We leveraged every resource, from Mercedes’ engine expertise to our own design team’s passion, to create something extraordinary.”
Yet, the ME Four-Twelve never roared into reality. Chrysler toyed with building 10 to 1,000 units, priced from $250,000 to $750,000, but DaimlerChrysler’s internal drama killed it. Mercedes, nervous about Chrysler stealing its thunder, reportedly pulled the plug. “There was tension,” an unnamed source told CarBuzz in 2025. “Mercedes didn’t see Chrysler as an equal in this space, and that sealed its fate.”
