2008 Chrysler Firepower Preview

     The Firepower is a granturismo which, according to Chrysler, is said to demonstrate the brand standards of elegance, refinement and affordability. The Chrysler-branded concept pushes beyond the sports car realm by blending expressive detail and engineering. 

In January 2004 Chrysler got us all ecstatic when the ME Four-Twelve concept debuted in NAIAS. The American company was finally going to get a supercar with class. Of course, the Dodge’s Viper is technically a Chrysler vehicle, but it’s a little "rough around the edges". The ME Four-Twelve proved that Chrysler can combine extreme performance and luxury. Everything was set for production until the suits at Daimler-Chrysler started to question economical viability.

     The car would have been unquestionably very desirable, but few could have satisfied that desire at an estimated price of $ 200,000.

Also making a business case for the supercar, which would likely have topped $200,000 and sold maybe a few hundred copies a year, was difficult, hence the decision to scrap the project. But in 2005’s NAIAS Chrysler brought to our attention a replacement for the ME Four-Twelve, The Firepower concept which shares the Dodge Viper race-bred chassis and the 6.1 liter V8 HEMI recently launched on the Chrysler 300C SRT-8. The concept was announced to go from zero-to-sixty in just 4.5 seconds and reach thrilling 175 mph top speed, all of that via an automatic 5-speed transmission (with AutoStick feature – the alternative of manually selecting gears) also common with the 300C SRT-8.

     In terms of market success it appears to be a good bit easier for the Firepower, especially since it would reduce some R&D costs by sharing parts with Viper and the 300C. So the rumors regarding While Chrysler wanting to put this car into production seem to be highly probable. The concept itself seems to be a stock car preview, rather than a technology showoff. And by utilizing an already-existing chassis, as well as a "lesser" HEMI engine, a production version of the Firepower should cost less than a Viper. An estimation made on this specs places a production Firepower at about the same price as a new Corvette.