The Me 209 of 1943 was an attempt to create an enhanced version of the Bf 109, which served as the Luftwaffe's primary fighter aircraft throughout World War II.

The first Me 209 was a single-engine air speed record plane for which little consideration was given to adaptation for combat.

Like these enhanced versions of Kurt Tank's design, the new Me 209 would share most of its airframe with a proven model, in this case the Bf 109G.

The most visible change was the required one to the engine's air intake location, as the Jumo 213's supercharger intake was located on the starboard side of the engine (as standard for all models of the earlier Junkers Jumo 211 inverted V12), versus the DB 603's portside location, the standard for all Daimler-Benz inverted V12 engine designs.

The extent of the modifications undermined the original purpose, which was to build a superior aircraft as similar to the existing Bf 109G as possible.