Minivans are often overlooked by the car buyers of today and that’s a shame. A good minivan gives you loads of practicality, often for not a lot of money. Of course, some enthusiasts want some high-octane excitement in their cars. For those people, I have a solution. Mercedes-Benz sold just 200 of its R-Class minivans with a 6.2-liter V8 firing 505 hp and 465 lb-ft torque. This is a minivan that hits 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, could get the kids to school at 171 mph, and can be yours.
Lately, your favorite writers here at the Autopian have been reminded about how wild the 2000s were for car enthusiasts. The sport sedan was in vogue and there were so many of them that in 2004, Car and Driver had a shootout between seven sedans. All of those cars were around $35,000 and all of them had a manual transmission. If you liked trucks, Dodge was willing to sell you one fitted with the Viper’s V10 engine and Monroe Equipment slapped a pickup bed on the back of a Chevy medium-duty commercial truck. The Smart Roadster existed during this period, as did the excellent Renault Avantime and the quirky Audi A2. If you happened to be a family person, even the vans were pretty cool in those days. And if you had enough money, you could bring home the king of 2000s minivans, the Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG.
One of these has come up for sale in Irvine, California on the MB Market, and its auction ends in seven days. It showed up in my feed while I was compiling this week’s Mercedes’ Marketplace Madness. Usually, I’d just toss a find like this into the list, but it’s so cool that I think it should be highlighted. Group buy, anyone?
What Is This Thing?
The Mercedes-Benz R-Class is one of those cars that borrow traits from different classes. It’s as long as an S-Class but adds four inches of wheelbase. The greenhouse is reminiscent of a wagon, but its seating for six points to a minivan. Then again, it has doors like a sedan or wagon and its permanent all-wheel-drive system would have been at home in a crossover in 2007. So, just what is a Mercedes R-Class? Well, Mercedes-Benz only muddied the waters here, calling it a 4+2 seater Grand Sports Tourer.
The R-Class originates from a concept presented at the 2002 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The concept car was called the Vision GST and at time, DaimlerChrysler said that the vehicle was designed to meet the changing requirements and wishes of its customers. DaimlerChrysler admits that the vehicle is a mix of “Saloon, Estate, MPV and Sport Utility Vehicle” blended together into one vehicle.
The marque explains what those customer needs and wishes were for a car that could do it all. Customers apparently asked for a Mercedes-Benz that was stylish, technologically advanced, and with plenty of space for family, leisure equipment, or work materials. On top of that, this vehicle would have the handling and performance expected from a Mercedes-Benz. Basically, DaimlerChrysler wanted the R-Class to be a jack of all trades.
The concept car would make one more appearance in 2004 before arriving in production guise at the 2005 New York International Auto Show. Mercedes’ R-Class is another one of those wonderful instances where the production car looks pretty close to its original concept.
At launch, buyers had a choice of the 2006 Mercedes-Benz R350 or the R500. The R350 got a 3.5-liter V6 making 268 HP and 258 lb-ft torque while the R500 sported a 5.0-liter V8 making 302 HP and 339 lb-ft torque. No matter which one you chose, you got all-wheel-drive and a seven-speed automatic. By all accounts, these were fine minivan wagon crossover things and they weren’t a total drag, either. For big vehicles, the R-Class basically cut through the air with their 0.31-0.32 coefficient of drag. Car and Driver found the V6 able to hit 60 mph in 7.8 seconds and the V8 did the job in 6.5 seconds. That’s first-generation Audi TT territory!
However, if none of those engine choices really did it for you, in 2007 you could pick up an R320, which got a 215 HP and 398 lb-ft torque diesel, or you could get this, the R63 AMG.
Warp-Speed Parent Mobile
Even though Mercedes-Benz insists that this is not a minivan, it has most of the right minivan traits, only missing the mark on sliding doors. Otherwise, the R-Class is like a private jet for the road, and the R63 AMG gave it the speed to match. First showcased in late 2005 before going on sale for just that single model year, the R63 houses the 6.2-liter V8 that powers the ML63 AMG. It also borrows the seven-speed AMG Speedshift 7G-Tronic transmission and 4Matic all-wheel-drive from its SUV sibling as well. In this configuration, the 4Matic system sends 60 percent of engine torque to the rear wheels and the remaining 40 percent to the front.
That naturally-aspirated V8 is firing out 505 hp and 465 lb-ft torque, which slices the acceleration time down to 4.6 seconds. That’s not just fast for a minivan, that’s just plain fast for anyone who hasn’t driven a supercar. Adding to this van’s flair are 20-inch wheels, an AMG body kit, a retuned Airmatic air suspension, and even a Racetimer in case the trip to soccer practice involves a racetrack.
The features of this van just don’t seem to end, either. I’ll let the listing at the MB Market do the talking:
Exterior equipment includes a panorama glass sunroof, Bi-Xenon headlamps with active curve illumination, front fog lamps, headlamp washers, Distronic cruise control, Parktronic with a rearview camera, Keyless-Go and a power tailgate.
The cabin is trimmed in Ash Nappa Leather (508) and features matching gray carpets and Burl Walnut wood trim which lines the center console, dashboard and door panels. The front sport seats are heated and power adjustable and feature multicontour with massage along with alcantara accents on the shoulders. Interior equipment includes three-zone automatic climate control, COMAND with DVD navigation, Harman Kardon Logic7 surround sound, and dual sun shade visors. The second row includes climate controls mounted along with the rear audio controls as well as a center console and rear pop-out windows.
Expensive And Rare
When new, the R63 AMG had a price of about $90,000, which was about $40,000 more than the base price of an R500 of the day. Reviewers thought that Mercedes had gone mad, yet found the R63 to be competent. Though, the van was seemingly destined to be a very rare niche vehicle. As Car and Driver reported in 2006, the van was by special order only and Mercedes decided not to advertise it. Mercedes didn’t even expect the van to go to the typical AMG customer, but to the AMG customer who needed a second or third car. The R63 AMG was sold for just a single model year in 2007 and just 200 of them were made and of those, Mercedes somehow found 108 people willing to drive one in America.
Thus, what you’re looking at here would probably be worthy of my Holy Grail column. This is a car that you can go your entire life without seeing. And if you have the money, this is the kind of car that you’d drive across the country for. Perhaps that’s why this 2007 Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG has had five owners living in Washington, Wisconsin, Texas, and California.
This van is well-traveled! Given its odometer reading of 143,878 miles, it’s also been used as a real car, too. Sadly, this one doesn’t have the AMG Driver’s Package, so you’ll have to live with a top speed of 155 mph, not the full-throated 171 mph.
The seller of this one has kept it mostly stock. It wears custom 20-inch wheels that are supposed to be a throwback to the Mercedes Grosser. This R63 also has aftermarket floormats. The good news here is that if you don’t like the mats or the wheels, the originals for both come in the sale.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this high-mileage high-performance Merc needed some work to get to where it is today. You get a whole binder full of repair history and most recently, the van got a big service. That service included: “an oil pan reseal, a new left-side cam adjuster seal, a new valve cover gasket, new radiator, four new air springs, rear shocks, a compressor and valve block as well as new main and auxiliary batteries, new headlight bulbs and new wipers.”
If you want in on this rare, speedy minivan, it’s up for auction at the MB Market. As of right now, bids are up to $16,000 and there’s still a full week to go. If you buy it, please let me drive it, I promise to give you the biggest smile you’ve ever seen.
(Photos: Seller, unless otherwise noted.)
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Better check those head bolts before buying…
i really need to win the lottery……
Those wheels are freakin awesome. I love this thing. Now to convince my wife she wants this instead of a new Sienna.
OMG, if I had the money, I would totally buy this!
Really dig those wheels on it. Gives it a ton more character.
I have seen only one of these in real life, at my local grocery store in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It was surreal, because it’s not exactly the kind of are you’d expect to see something like this. I did a bit of research and supposedly only 5 were sold in all of Canada.
The “R-Class is a minivan!” claim in auto circles has always irked me, and the lack of sliders has nothing to do with it.
Sure, it’s long like a minivan, not as tall as most SUVs – but not quite as tall as most vans either. It doesn’t have nearly the max cargo volume of the contemporary minivans (closer to the smaller 2nd-gen Highlander or Pilot), the third row isn’t as sizeable as minivans either.
The 3rd row is better than many SUVs of the time, but because they made it longer and usually more chairlike than some of the butt-on-the-floor additions SUVs had at the time. GM did it with the GMT360s, Ford did it with the Freestyle, Chrysler did it with the original Pacifica. It has more in common conceptually with the latter two. Some may remember that people have confused these as shared with the Pacifica since they were from DaimlerChrysler and both longer & lower with a 2-2-2 seating layout. Lacking plastic cladding doesn’t mean it’s not a crossover, cladding/unpainted body trim was largely “out” at the time
It’s still a neat vehicle and more practical option for most people than many of the crossovers out there, but not a minivan.
Everything you say makes perfect sense through the lens of a car enthusiast. But park an R class next to a 2007 Sienna and a normal person can’t tell the difference.
True, but it’s the enthusiasts that insist it’s a minivan while the regular person will probably just think they’re both ugly, lol.
None of the long & low 3-row crossovers did well at the time, so I doubt butching it up would have done much to help. Plus IIRC these were at least a tad more expensive than an ML of the time so it’s not unlike the 5-Series GT featured recently – spend more for something “unfamiliar.”
Ha! fair enough.
I didn’t know they made an AMG, that is awesome.
When these hit the market, it was painfully obvious that the The R-Class was a minivan for people who absolutely refused to own a minivan. It was objectively uncool in all the minivan ways except to the owner.
The rarest of R 63 is the short-wheelbase version for the international market: only 84 were reputedly made.
Interestingly, the R-Class did quite well in China so Mercedes-Benz continued producing R-Class for four more years after the international sale ended in 2013. Due to smaller production volume, Mercedes-Benz contracted AM General to assemble them for the Chinese market.
The whole R-Class history is interesting. The thing pretty much flopped. At least in western markets – the Chinese loved it. No wonder, as size trumps everything there and it’s important to be able to carry family and friends.
Anyhow, with the continued failure in western markets, production at the Mercedes plant in Tuscaloosa ended in 2015. For two years thereafter, R-Classes for the Chinese market were made at AM General in Mishawaka, IN. So a military contractor and maker of the Hummer produced German-branded minivans in the USA for the Chinese market – that’s quite a feat of globalization!
Holy crap, my BIL lived in Mishawaka during that time. I had no idea they were built there.
I looked at one of these when they came out, and as soon as I tried to get into the third row, it was a nope. Doing anything with the seats required a PhD and then some in kinematics and contortionism. The 1737758832117 buttons on the center console and steering wheel didn’t help the cause either. It was the very definition of German over-engineered.
May I suggest investigating the alternate universe (i.e. JDM) equivalent: the Toyota Mark X Zio 350. 6-seater minivan-wagonish thing with the 3.5L V6 from a Lexus is350. Wouldn’t challenge the r63 but would probably give the r500 a run for its money.
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2011-toyota-mark-x-zio-350g-auto/SSE-AD-6634704
Since I’m looking for a used replacement for an X3, and more interested in a wagon or a minivan (any suggestions would be appreciated), This article really caught my eye. But (there’s always a but), facing MB maintenance costs scares me away. It’s a beautiful vehicle, I would love love love one, but unless you just have money to burn, no way average consumers could or would buy this. We can dream though, and this is so nice! Thanks for showing it!
Get a Mazda5 or Kia Rondo. In Canada, there’s also teh Chevy Orlando. It was sold in Canada but not the US. However, you can bring one down here, and Autopian even made an article about it.
Thanks for that, I had forgotten about the 5! Definitely worth a look.
The Mazda 5 Sport with 5 speed manual was the ticket – loved mine for nearly 200k miles.
And JDM Mazda 5 offered 7 passenger seating. If your ass was as wide as that of Kate Moss…
The painted area on the wheels is way too big compared to the Grosser.
Back when these were new, my boss bought his wife a R500. I joked about buying her a R63 and he went into a tirade about that being what she wanted but that he could buy her “two for the price of one” of the lower tier ones. He had to admit that driving the thing was pretty nice, but also complained that it spent so much time at the dealer that it felt like driving a new car each time they got it back from being repaired.
“Even though Mercedes-Benz insists that this is not a minivan, it has most of the right minivan traits, only missing the mark on sliding doors. ”
I’m with MB, sliding doors or go home.
I agree that sliding doors are better for minivans, since kids can’t carelessly throw them open into the car parked beside. However, minivans with hinged rear doors are still minivans – witness the first-generation Odyssey (and Isuzu Oasis badge-job) and the original Mazda MPV.
(Edited to remove a superfluous word just because I can.)
I get what you’re saying and by definition you are correct.
And yet to me if it’s got conventionally hinged doors it’s a tall station wagon. Sliding or barn side doors to me are “van” although the definition of that word also includes train cars, semi-trailers, travel trailers, hatchbacks and box trucks none of which I intuitively see as a “van”.
Eye of the beholder I guess.
Add to that the original Renault Espace which dates back as far as the Chrysler vans as well. The option of the seating capability across 3 rows that aren’t just jumpseats at the way back and tall, flat cargo area are much more minivanlike than merely having sliders.
Hinged rear doors do make a minivan. They are/were tall wagons…
I love the insanity, but the container, not so much. Then again, I’ve never had the need for a vehicle of this configuration. Still, “bonkers” is right up my alley!
With such a limited production run and the fact it’s a legit AMG, it could be a good candidate for a long-term investment at that price.
I like these more than I should, but unfortunately, they are shitty even by MB standards 🙁
Better off with an E63 wagon with 7 seats! The wagon seats 7 while the minivan only seats 6 😛
Hey, can you tag people in the comments? @AestheticsInMotion does that work? Did I even spell that right? He has one of those and wrote about it on oppo
While I agree that an E63 wagon is objectively better at a lot of things (and is a lot better looking), the R-class was indeed available in a 7 seat configuration. It just was not optioned this way for the R63.
Another thing not mentioned in the article is just how huge and comfortable the rear seating is on this, especially in the second row. The seating is very modular and folds totally flat to carry huge things including sheet goods.
Source : I own a 2008 R320 CDI in the exact interior/exterior color combo as this R63 🙂
I did not know that! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 7-passenger R-Class! All the ones I’ve looked at had three rows of buckets. I wonder how common the middle bench is…
Maybe that 7-seater is itself BaT-worthy
The 7th seat is a bit of a rare configuration. It is a separate ~3/4 width seat between the two buckets. It can raise and lower into a couple positions, as well as fold, so it can serve as a sort of armrest between the rear seats when not being used. It does make it harder to access the third row though, which I usually leave folded anyway.
AiM does have one but it was built by @AMGTech. It didn’t come from M-B that way…
Honestly – the 6 seat configuration is perfect. I think if you need 7 you need another car … the 6 seat configuration of this car works RIGHT (and the rear seats are surprisingly usable).
Required reading at any mention of an r63 is ‘r63 AMG The Unicorn of my Destruction’ on Grassroots Motorsports forum. It’s an amazing saga of a competent, methodical regular guy tearing into shit that many of us would quail at. I know I would
Was just going to post that. Prospective buyers should make damn sure they have the updated head bolts installed on this one, unless they fancy tearing down an AMG engine themselves (or swallowing a $54k repair bill).
So people always post that story. I actually was one of the owners of that exact car, and let me tell you – if the car has been WELL taken care of (like many of the R63s are, and like mine was – the community is awesome), you’ll have an AMAZING time. Mine gave me zero trouble over the ownership period, and it is such an amazing sleeper – and people who know, just KNOW. Had I not had to move, I wouldn’t have sold it.
Thank you for not telling me to buy it so you don’t have to. Of course, most times that headline is written it’s just hyperbole. Your car collection, however, does suggest it could be a legitimate threat.
LOL! See, there’s not a chance I could afford this, so that type of headline wasn’t even in my mind. Maybe when it has 300,000 miles and a failed air suspension.
I am in the “highly depreciated R-class club”, and bought a R320 with over 200k miles quite cheaply. It has predictably been a bit of an ongoing maintenance saga, but it is an amazing road trip and adventure vehicle. It has the same OM642 that they put in Sprinter vans, though luckily before the bluetec era.
They are incredibly comfortable and versatile, though I am very glad mine only has the air suspension in the rear, not the front. When it inevitably fails, I’ll be doing a spring kit conversion and mild lift. However tempting, the added complexity of this R63 is a dream/nightmare…sort of a fever dream.
The air suspension is actually not bad! The rear struts are cheap to replace, and although the fronts are unobtanium they last quite a while. Hopefully they’ve been replaced and then you don’t have to worry about them for a while 😀