Mac Pro release date: Apple’s fastest Mac is expected to arrive in stores next week, as reports have hinted that the December 16-18 time-frame is when the highly anticipated U.S.-made workstation will be ready for purchase.

In what could be seen as an incredible attention drive for the unit, the exclusive red-colored Mac Pro was auctioned off in November to benefit The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. It now stands as the most expensive desktop unit ever sold for $977,000.

The real-life price, however, of the “Mac for ten years” starts at $2,999. The workstation, which many speculate to be manufactured in Texas, has a 3.7GHz quad-core Xeon processor, 12 GB of DRAM, Dual FirePro D300 GPUs with 2GB of VRAM each and a 256GB SSD.

The new Mac Pro also sports a USB 3, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 1.4 ports, and six ports for the ultrafast Thunderbolt 2, Apple’s new connectivity technology that delivers up to 20 Gbps of bandwidth to each external device according to the Business Times.

German retailer Conrad Electronics has been reported to be accepting pre-orders for the Mac Pro and saying that the units will be available on December 16. The announcement prompted many to assume that the time-frame is when the MacPro will be available for sale worldwide.

The price and speed of the Mac Pro has led many to describe it as a workstation geared for a “small but professional market” of creative professionals. Technical leaders in music and entertainment has been featured at the Apple announcements of the Mac Pro.

The Mac Pro 2013 edition is the first time that Apple has updated their workstation in three years. The cylindrical shape unit is a departure from the big boxy designs of previous Apple workstations.