The unveiling of the Chrysler ME Four - Twelve concept car at the2004 North American International Auto Showin Detroit left some car - industriousness commentator scratching their foreland .
Usually , it ’s the honored European auto maker that craft extremist - expensive , madly fast supercars , not American company cognize more for unpretentious " grocery - getters " than quadriceps - turbo , carbon - fiber state bullets . But the ME Four - Twelve represents a melding of Chrysler ’s " minivan " political theory with Daimler - Benz ’s European , execution - centric position . The company are now one and the same , after all , in the form of DaimlerChrysler .
In this clause , we ’ll learn why Chrysler design a supercar , what the ME Four - Twelve packs under the hood and just what this purebred is up to of .
Concept to Production
A draw can be learned about thiscarby asking one very basic question : What in the world does the name mean?Although not very inspiring , the nameME Four - Twelveis certainly enlightening : It endure for the placement of theengine , which is just behind the equipment driver ( Mid - Engine ) , and the size of the engine ( Fourturbochargerson aTwelve - cylinder engine ) .
The ME Four - Twelve fall into a rare stratum of cars know assupercars– cars designed to execute like high - performancerace cars , with lightweight material body , huge amount ofhorsepower , and nimble treatment . It goes without articulate that a supercar costs a lot . If the ME were to go into production , it is estimated that it would be about$150,000 .
The ME set out as an idea in the headspring of DaimlerChrysler chief operating ship’s officer Wolfgang Bernhard . Most conception cars are just loud salesroom statements about what the car maker can do . The fact that Bernhard ’s imaginativeness ( a production prototype supercar on a par with the skillful Europe has to bid ) put synthetic rubber to road about a yr after he commit the directive is one of the most amazing thing about this car .
What make it different from typical conception cars ? Chrysler designed the ME Four - Twelve from the beginning to be a naturalistic ( albeit expensive ) production manakin . Itmeets U.S. government activity safety rule . The automobile is signify to reach its performance benchmarks onfuelyou can buy at the corner gas post , not radical - high - octane racing fuel . The interior is not only customized with climate ascendance , a great audio organisation , and all the other conveniences you ’d expect , but it was designed with enough clearance and legroom to go normal - sized masses .
First and foremost , though , the ME Four - Twelve was design to go really tight .
The ME Engine
Like most high - performancecars , the ME was build around theengine . The designers started with a duplicate - turbo V-12 AMG engine , and then put it onsteroids . Adding two moreturbochargersto the 6.0 - liter aluminium power industrial plant cranks the gentle wind insistence being pumped into the piston chamber to20 pounds per square inch .
The electronic , sequential , multipointfuel - injection systemmeasures the exact amount of fuel call for for each cylinder . Adry - sumpoil system helps keep the nub ofgravitylow ( and admit the ME to keep its supercar - needful low profile ) and improve performance . With a9:1 compression rate , the ME operates decently on premium - unleaded gasolene . in high spirits compressing rate , like the 12:1 ratio typical of race auto and other supercars , generate morehorsepower , but they require very high - octaneracing fuel .
All those high - technical school constituent give the car an impressive 850 horsepower at 5,750 rpm – close to the 1,000 hp uncommitted in the track record - settingBugatti Veyron . Since the car weighs under 3,000 Egyptian pound ( 1,361 kg ) , the ME ’s magnate - to - weight unit proportion is.295 hp per poundof weight ( or 3.4 pound / hp ) . It crank up out 850 lb - ft oftorquebetween 2,500 and 4,500 rpm . Each liter of displacement bring forth a maximum of 142 hp . Every one of those number is an eye - undoer , even when compared to other supercars .
The ME Transmission
A infection specially plan byRicardois getting the office to the rearwheels .
The 7 - speed , double wet - clutches transmission is check with electronic quarter round sceneshifter go up on the steering rack , just like a Formula One car . In - machine electronic computer not only assist with reposition ( generating200 - millisecond shift time ) , but they really predict which gear will be needed next .
After your amazement wears off , you might find yourself wondering what exactly adouble slopped - clutch transmissionis . A wetclutchis only a clutch plunge in a lubricating fluid , which maintain the clutch surfaces light and reduces temperatures . This improves performance and prolongs the life of the grasp .
Adouble clutchallows for seamless shifting betweengears . In a normalmanual transmission , the clutch disengages , breaking the link between theengineand the transmission for a moment , whenever the number one wood shifts gears . This result in a exit oftorqueand impulse . In a double clutch , there are two clutches – one for the even gears and one for the unmatched gear wheel – nested within each other . If you ’re in third gear and make the shift to quaternary , the grip for quaternary gear engages at the exact second that the clutch for third gear pulls off .
Fancy equipment is capital , but what can the ME do with it ? The motorcar has n’t been test independently , so the only performance stats hail from Chrysler , based on computing machine molding and its own testing . Chrysler reports :
That ’s what car fan call , " assign you back in your stern . " The ME should be able to blast down a quarter - geographical mile drag strip in 10.6 mo at 142 miles per hour .
The ME Suspension
With all that pep pill , it takes a well - engineeredsuspensionfor a supercar to manage the corners . The ME Four - Twelve play a twofold - wishbone abeyance in the rear , Al control arms in the front and horizontally oppose helix - over muffler with electronically controlled contraction and rebound tuning . That intend the number one wood canadjust the shocksfor different drive weather with the pushing of a button . A blade - case anti - roll bar keeps the human body from rolling during turns . This is adjustable , too . The " blade " are flat , metal pieces that connect the anti - roll legal profession to the hiatus . Imagine a plastic ruler consist flat – it ’s very flexible . Now ideate trying to flex it sideways . By turning the blades , it is possible to align for a softer or harder anti - roll cake .
We have n’t even mentioned the two most of import persona of any car ’s suspension yet – where the car meets the machine driver ’s hands , and where the railcar touches the road . At one oddment is a power - help , wheel - and - pinionsteering systemwith 2.4 ringlet - to - ignition lock turns in the direction wheel , and a 36 - base ( 11 - metre ) turn wheel spoke . That makes for some very responsive handling . At the other end is a band of Michelin high - performance radialtires : 265/35ZR19 in the front and 335/30ZR20 in the rear , mounted on cast aluminum wheels .
While theenginehandles going from 0 - 100 mph , start from 100 mph back down to zero is handled by 15.0 - inch ventilated atomic number 6 , ceramic - compositedisc - brakerotors with six - piston atomic number 13 mononucleosis - block caliper . Theanti - lock brakesystem can be adjusted by the number one wood to different profiles , depending on the post . There arethree backwash scene , plus scope for highway and street driving .
Now let ’s take a tone at how the frame composition and shape of the ME contributes to its performance .
Supercar Frame and Shape
The ME Four - Twelve take care as tight as it is . Its shape is similar to many supercars because the mid - enginedesign and flowing necessities of going over 200 miles per hour be given to pull cars into an " idealistic " in high spirits - public presentation configuration .
The engine is mounted to achrome - moly frame , a steel admixture made of chromium and molybdenum primitively grow for manipulation in gamy - temperature environment within power plants . This sub - frame is attached to the primary human body , a monocoque tub made of a C fiber and Al honeycomb . Monocoqueis French for " single shell , " and means that the form is built from a single " tub " with no intimate support frame . The structural strength comes entirely from the shell itself . This bathtub is mix with carbon paper - fiber bodywork to give the ME Four - Twelve its contour . Aluminum jam zonesmake the car good in the event of an impingement . This complex body part not only looks like something from the year 3030 , it is also very wakeful and stiff – very suitable qualities in a high - performance railway car .
In terms of pure numbers , the ME is 44.9 inches ( 114 cm ) marvelous , 78.7 inch ( 199.9 cm ) wide and 178.8 column inch ( 454.1 cm ) long . It only seats two , but you probably would n’t be taking the youngster to grandma ’s for Thanksgiving dinner party in this car , so it ’s not much of a drawback .
The body is shaped not just to depend good , but to aid in performance as well .
The computer - controlledactive rear spoileradjusts itself count on speed andwindconditions , creating up to 925 lb ofdown forceat 186 mph . That serves to stabilize the auto , increasetraction , and aid in mellow - focal ratio cornering . The rest of the body also creates down violence , while underside components are designed to reduce lift from tune getting under the car . While create all this down force , the flowing figure alsodirects tune to the railway locomotive compartment , keep that 850 - hp animate being cool .
American Supercar
The car world is buzz about the ME Four - Twelve . Very few American car makers have make lawful supercars . The ME might place the banner for supercars of the future .
Wolfgang Bernhard describes it as " everything we ’ve learned about create exciting , suitable motorcar . "
For more data on the Chrysler ME Concept and other high - performancecars , check out the nexus on the following page .
