2011 Mercedes Benz R350R350

Mercedes-Benz designers have reworked the front of the R-class wagon for the 2011 model year, installing a more upright grille, a taller hood and reworked fenders and headlamps for a more rugged look. The rear fascia is also resculpted.

A new look that is closer to SUV that station wagon may be the tonic for the anemic sales of the R-class. Mercedes sold 2,825 copies of the R350 in 2009, down 63.5 percent from the year earlier. This year, sales of the R350 totaled 295 units in the first two months, down 46.1 percent from the same period last year.

The R350 powertrain lineup remains unchanged from the 2010 model--a 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine rated at 268 hp or a 3.0-liter V6 diesel rated at 210 hp. All-wheel drive is standard on the R-class.U.S. buyers get a choice of six- or seven-passenger seating. Mercedes sells a short-wheelbase version of the R-class in other markets with five-passenger seating.

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120 years of motoring history

Mercedes-Benz's new museum in Stuttgart-Untertuerkheim in Germany contains, in the words of the company, "extraordinary automotive rarities".


Designed by Dutch architect Ben van Berkel the museum, which gently slopes down its seven floors in a curved fashion, is itself a remarkable piece of design and engineering.


Among the cars on display, the world's first motorcar, which was invented by Karl Benz during the 1880s and patented on 29 January 1886, hence its name 'Patent Motor Carriage'.


Together, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz founded Daimler-Benz and created the Mercedes marque, which for decades led the way in the world of automotive development.


Every surface was cleaned and every car was polished to ensure opening of the new museum on 20 May.


About 160 vehicles can be seen at the museum's 1,500 exhibits. The new museum replaces one at a car factory in Stuttgart, which attracted up to 500,000 visitors a year.


One of only two eight-cylinder Mercedes 300 SLR Coupes produced. The car was built in 1955 and named after Daimler-Benz's chief engineer R. Uhlenhaut.


This car was gifted to Lady Diana in 1991, but the museum says it was later returned after criticism about her owning a German car.


This car was gifted to Lady Diana in 1991, but the museum says it was later returned after criticism about her owning a German car.


The sleek lines of these 1930s land speed record cars hint at the shapes of modern windtunnel-formed Mercedes models.