I love the goodness that is AMG as much as the next man. There’s no denying that AMG makes some of the finest engines and most aggressive looking vehicles you can buy today. Be that as it may, what Mercedes-AMG just did to the V-Class is worthy of crucifixion or, at the very least, burning someone at the stake. I introduce you to the V-Class Night Edition – a traditional Mercedes Minivan with lots of hope and absolutely NO go. Seriously, Mercedes gave this thing everything AMG from branded front fascias to wheels to goodness on the inside too.

V-Class Night Edition – The Atrocity of Atrocities

In the ’70s, vans had a way of being cool. But the days of hippies and driving around with shag carpeting are long gone. In fact, minivans have essentially been dead for years now – just as dead as the station wagon in the United States. Meanwhile, Mercedes and AMG decide to make this late-term abortion for the handful of van enthusiasts who want to wish they had an AMG GT, I guess. Seriously, it has the black trim, the blacked out grille, the black mirrors, and even the typical AMG front fascia with big fake vents and two black louvers. Oh, and don’t forget about that big, pointless air dam too.

Apparently, there’s even an AMG rear fascia too. We can’t see it because Mercedes – in a move that’s far from typical – only released one photo, but we’re praying to all that is holy that it doesn’t have a diffuser. At this point, though, I guess we can’t rule anything out. It also gets those 19-inch alloy wheels, edition badging here and there, and tinted rear windows. The interior gets its own AMG treatment too, as the brand through in some black Nappa leather, gave the dash an “enhanced leather look finish (cheap as hell,) special edition floormats, and a black roof liner.

Here’s the worst part, it got all of this AMG goodness, so it looks kinda fast, but neither Mercedes or AMG thought it would be a good idea to poke around under the hood. It comes with the standard 2.1-liter turbodiesel with just 190 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. And, it sucks down between 6.8 and 7.5 liters per 100 kilometers or achieves about 31.4 mpg.

So, what we have here is a van that looks like it wants to be cool and fast, yet it’s the definition of a turd. The V-Class is on its way out, and this is an attempt to draw in a few more sales. In Germany, the V-Class Night Edition can be had for €55,260 or about $66,100 at current exchange rates. That’s a staggering €20,270 more than the entry-level model. You can actually get an E-Class for that price or get yourself a brand new GLE SUV for 3,000 Euro more. In fairness, if you optioned the standard V-Class with similar features, it would cost you a little more so, in theory, it offers a savings of around €2,300 assuming you would actually option out a minivan like this anyway.

References

Read our full review on the 2016 Mercedes-Benz V-Class AMG Line.

Read more Mercedes-Benz news.