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Racing records for minivans aren’t something you hear about often, and for good reason. Bulky family haulers aren’t exactly the pinnacle of performance—and as such—are rarely turned into motorsport-grade machinery. One exception to this rule, however, is the Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG; a 6.2-liter six-seater whose 451-horsepower V8 could hurl it from zero to 60 in under five seconds. Or, with a huge supercharger on it and racing renaissance man Tanner Foust behind the wheel, set a new record for the world’s fastest street-legal minivan.
Foust set the record on a closed, one-mile stretch of road on Aug. 7 at the Sandhills Open Road Challenge in Arnold, Nebraska in the heftily modified R63. For the record run, Weistec donated one of its Stage 2 superchargers for the Mercedes’ M156 V8; a 2.3-liter twin-screw blower that takes the motor from 451 horse and 443 pound-feet of torque to 672 and 662 respectively. That’s more than is produced by the ultimate Chevrolet Camaro, the ZL1 1LE, whose own blown 6.2-liter makes 650 horse and 650 torque.
Pushed closer to the 700-horse mark according to the car’s sponsor Optima Batteries, the Foust-driven R63 charged down the standing mile, recording 165.5 miles per hour at the 5,280-foot mark. If the R63’s top speed wasn’t limited by gearing, one can’t help wondering whether it could’ve pushed that number still higher with Weistec’s stage 3 supercharger, which is promised to produce as much as 740 horsepower.
Perhaps this won’t be the last time we hear about this particular R63 AMG breaking records—more minivan motorsport would certainly make the world a brighter place, no?
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