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Carlex Fits a Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG with Hippopotamus Nubuck Leather

The Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG is a pretty rare car, but somebody wanted to make his unique. The eccentric owner contacted the guys at Carlex Design Europe, who fitted a custom leather interior to the already rare performance minivan/crossover from Mercedes-Benz's AMG Division.
Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG by Carlex Design 12 photos
Photo: Carlex Design
Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG By Carlex Design with Hippopotamus LeatherMercedes-Benz R63 AMG By Carlex Design with Hippopotamus LeatherMercedes-Benz R63 AMG By Carlex Design with Hippopotamus LeatherMercedes-Benz R63 AMG By Carlex Design with Hippopotamus LeatherMercedes-Benz R63 AMG By Carlex Design with Hippopotamus LeatherMercedes-Benz R63 AMG By Carlex Design with Hippopotamus LeatherMercedes-Benz R63 AMG By Carlex Design with Hippopotamus LeatherMercedes-Benz R63 AMG By Carlex Design with Hippopotamus LeatherMercedes-Benz R63 AMG By Carlex Design with Hippopotamus LeatherMercedes-Benz R63 AMG By Carlex Design with Hippopotamus LeatherMercedes-Benz R63 AMG By Carlex Design with Hippopotamus Leather
Carlex Design Europe, a Polish workshop specialized in unique interiors, has just showed off a new project. The skilled craftsmen at Carlex equipped a Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG with a custom interior made out of Hippopotamus leather. We're speaking of Hippopotamus Nubuck leather, which was stitched to most of the interior surfaces.

From the dash to the seats and the insides of the doors, the R63 AMG now has hippo leather with white stitching. Industry experts claim hippopotamus leather is very resistant to wear while it has a velvet-like surface texture. The resulting fabric has a lot of figures and features unique shapes, but some of us think it's better suited for the animal born with it.

With the wood trim altered, and the surfaces in the R63's interior that haven't received the nubuck hippo leather treatment covered in Alcantara or regular cowhide, there's not much left of the original materials. The buttons on board haven't been changed, and the ICE doesn't seem upgraded in any way.

But the front headrests feature built-in monitors so that the rear passengers can be entertained on trips where the 6.2-liter V8 can't be used at full throttle. For audition purposes only, obviously.

On the outside, the Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG hasn't been touched by the guys at Carlex. The car even has its stock rims, but the body was obviously detailed and polished to a mirror finish. As usual with unique projects, the price for the work hasn’t been specified. As the saying goes, if you have to ask, you can't afford it.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the R63 AMG's spec sheet, we're talking about a seven-seat all-wheel-drive minivan with a V8 under the hood. And not just a run-of-the-mill V8, but an AMG design and hand-built V8, with 510 horsepower and 630 Nm at the driver's disposal. In stock form, the car could pull off a 0-62 mph acceleration in just 4.9 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to a crazy-for-a-minivan 155 mph (250 km/h).
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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