R-Class (crossover minivan)

The R-Class is a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) offered by Daimler AG in 2006 model year under the Mercedes-Benz brand. It is the first full-sized multi-purpose vehicle ever produced by Mercedes-Benz. It was first seen at the 2001 Detroit Auto Show as the Vision GST (Grand Sports Tourer) concept, and the final production vehicle was shown at the 2005 New York International Auto Show. The R-Class is built on the W251 chassis, and is assembled in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Mexico City. It is priced between the M-Class and the GL-Class. It was initially marketed by Mercedes-Benz as a "Sports Cruiser" and later as a "Family Tourer".


R63 AMG

The AMG version of the W251, the R63 AMG, was introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show as a 2007 model. It features a handbuilt 6.2 L M156 V8 engine producing 503 hp (375 kW) and 465 ft·lbf (630 N·m) of torque. Mercedes-Benz's 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic transmission is standard, but the R63 features AMG-calibrated shift times with shifting buttons on the back of the steering wheel.
The R63 AMG is electronically limited to a top speed of 155 mph (250 km/h), with 0-62 mph time of 5.0 seconds. Due to low sales, as the majority went for diesel R's, the R63 was taken out of production in 2007 with the first facelift for the R-Class.