Chrysler Shows 850-hp Speed Racer

Chrysler Group is toying with taking the Chrysler brand into a segment where it has never been a player: super sports cars.

The Chrysler ME Four-Twelve, currently a concept car, would take on Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bugatti brands with its 12-cyl. engine and aggressive design.

The ME follows true super sports-car form, with its mid-engine, rear-drive configuration. The 12-cyl. engine with four turbochargers produces 850 hp at 5,750 rpm and 850 lb.-ft. of torque from 2,500-4,500 rpm. Estimated acceleration: 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds.

Chrysler says the ME is not a concept vehicle, rather a prototype that is fully functional and production feasible.

“You can turn, you can fire the engine; it all works,” says Chrysler Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Bernhard. “All the crash work is done, and all the thermal testing basically is done. The groundwork has been done.”

The only question is whether the auto maker can make a good enough business case to actually start producing the vehicle.

“We have to get customers, that's the first thing, and after the customers, we check off whether we can make it,” Bernhard says.