Despite not being one of the most popular Mercedes-Benz models in history, the R-Class ‘Family Tourer’ or luxury MPV, was always an extremely comfortable and spacious long distance cruiser.
Even so, R-Class sales never impressed Mercedes, making the German manufacturer conclude that people weren’t necessarily interested in a station wagon/SUV/MPV hybrid. Of course that didn’t stop them from building the insane R63 AMG version, powered by a 510 PS, 630 Nm (465 lb-ft) V8 engine.
The R63 AMG could blast its way to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5 seconds flat, which at that time made this a quicker car than the Porsche Cayenne Turbo – at least on paper.
Leave it to Carlex then to single out a car such as the forgotten R63 and give it a unique dual-tone leather and Alcantara finish throughout the entire cabin. There’s still some wood and plastic but we’re not talking a lot of it.
Overall, this is one of the coziest interiors we’ve seen from Carlex Design lately, and we can already imagine the owner of the car smiling every time his gaze catches the ‘Carlex Handcrafted’ lettering on the center console.
What do you guys think, great interior on a not so great car, or is it safe for us to call the R-Class somewhat underrated? Who knows, Mercedes might actually consider reviving it sometime in the not so distant future.