You Pay for Speed, a Lot.
Take care with the performance hype. The speed of the 609 is terrific, a true 250 knots in the dash (but about 225 at long range cruise). There is no doubt the 609 will be safe, fast and comfortable. What you pay for this speed is also terrific, and almost never discussed.
AW has publicized that the price of the 609 should be about 25 Mill Euros, which is perhaps the same as a 225 or S-92, both of which carry two to three times more payload!!). There are no public estimates of the support costs, but they, too should be impressive. The 609 complexity makes the parts count eye-watering, where for example the critical parts for power, drive systems and flight controls sum up to the total of both a tandem helicopter and a swing-wing airplane. The critical servo count alone is a example, with six dual servos for the twin rotors, a twin set of servos for ailerons, elevator, rudders and flaps, and another twin set for the tilt mechanism. That is about 16 servo pairs, as compared to four pairs for a typical single rotor helicopter. A similar parts comparison can be made for transmissions, and for shafting, and for airframe structure. These extra elements cost weight, money, and also cost repair and maintenance time.
The 609 engine power needed is about 40% more than a similar helicopter, enough so that the TR salesmen usually compare a tilt rotor to the next larger sized helicopter, that way the abysmal payload/power ratio is nicely hidden. Example? I have seen sales literature that shows the 609 vice the S76 or 412, both of which need less than 2/3 the power. I have also seen a presentation that shows that the 609 has about the same installed power as an S-70 Black Hawk, where the Black Hawk weighs about 21,000 lbs MGW as compared to the 609 at perhaps 16,000 to 17,000 (both at perhaps the same empty weight). And at those weights, the helicopter vastly out-performs the 609.
Where the 609 shines is cruise efficiency, where the miles flown on a kg of fuel are perhaps half again farther, so the deficit in the hover is partially recovered the farther you fly. By the time both types are at their maximum range (with aux fuel) the 609 and S-70 go about the same distance.
Nothing will make the helicopter match the speed, that extra 100 knots is the best and most important 609 feature, and its shining virtue. But don't think the speed comes free, and also don't think the customer base doesn't know the actual cost. Rumor has it Bell dumped the 609 because of these numbers, and decided to spend their money on the 525 instead. AW, owned by the Italian government, has far deeper pockets, it seems, and is less concerned with profits and losses.