If there is one car that should truly stand for the best and the worst that occurred during the DaimlerChrysler era, most people would instinctively point to the Chrysler 300C, and for good reason: it makes great use out of Mercedes parts with Chrysler engines and style, and has done well for itself. But I disagree. If you want the one car that truly spelled out the brilliance that should have been and the utter dysfunction that was, look at the Chrysler ME-412 concept. When this quad-turbocharged V-12 powered monster hit the show circuit in 2004, the sounds of jaws hitting the floor was deafening. This was Chrysler’s entire design language, in a stunning, low-slung supercar. This was such a departure from a company that was better known for the cab-forward Concorde and the LeBaron convertible that nobody was really sure what the hell was going on. The show car was pretty enough, but when the black test mule you will see here started hitting test tracks, auto journos started losing their shit, believing that DCX was absolutely sincere about unloading this cannon with a Chrysler badge on the public. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. Depending on which side of the coin you are on, either it was way to expensive to develop or the Daimler side of the house was not happy with a Chrysler existing that could stomp a mud hole through the chest of their SLR McLaren coupe. Shame…hearing this thing run sounds like missed opportunity to me.
