We’re not sure if it’s masochism or challenging yourself with a difficult task, but regardless, we find it entertaining when builders start a project with a car that no one likes and turn it into a vehicle everyone covets. I suppose it’s a Pygmalion sort of thing. And that is in part what was behind Joe Maynard’s motivation to work on the Mercedes R class.

Joe runs Marketing in Motion and he knew that he could put together something special to win over the “I’m too good for you, ugly Mercedes” crowd. He worked with Mercedes Benz USA and various project sponsors to build the ultimate VIP ride. We have to say, it’s better than some of the GLK projects we saw last year, but we won’t get into that.

Your typical rear seat entertainment system usually has only one overhead monitor, probably with a 10” screen. Headrest monitors are common enough but they are only 7”. Maynard wanted to get away from that minivan concept of rear seat entertainment. He wanted to build something for adults. So for his Mercedes R550 he decided to create the ultimate rear seat entertainment system with a distinctly luxurious feel. Think of your flat-panel TV at home and then somehow install it in your car.

After tossing around ideas for almost a year. Maynard decided to bring in Peter Johnson of Image Audio Designs to give those ideas substance. Johnson figured out how to install a massive screen behind the front seats that would divide the cab into two distinct areas—the driver and navigator’s cockpit and the in-car theater.

Since MTX is a marketing partner with Marketing in Motion, a lot of MTX gear went into this R550—although not the huge 30”+ screen. In a car that size the monitor looks like the 50-inch flat-panel you have in your media room. The barrier wall holds not only the TV but also components of the front stage. Johnson built the wall starting with a ¾” MDF frame. Grille cloth soaked in polyester resin provided the shape, which was stiffened with two layers of 3-ounce fiberglass mat and finished with body filler and factory Mercedes vinyl.

Like a projectionist in reverse, the front passenger can control the entertainment from the front seat, where the Sony MEX-DV2000 source unit replaces the CD changer in the glove box. For control from the rear, a Sony RM-X55M Remote Commander travels back to the rest of the cabin. Rear passengers can use the wired remote to control the system.

Behind the rear-seat movie watchers, two 4” component speakers accompanied by tweeters provide the rear surround. Johnson modified the rear pillar sections, removing the old factory 2.5” speakers and fiberglassing new 1/2”  MDF mounts to the factory panels. Aluminum mounting points give the speakers something to latch on to in the reshaped C-pillars. After being sprayed with poly primer, they were dyed to match the factory finish.

Peter mounted the amps in the rear side panels. After removing the panels, he split them into two pieces and mounted the amps with aluminum brackets into the factory holes. “The upper half was cut out and a new trim panel was fabricated to flush up to the amplifiers,” Johnson says. As with the C-pillars, it was dyed to match and the panel was wrapped in vinyl. The MTX TE602 amplifier runs the two 10” T5510-44 subwoofers up front; the TE1501 monoblock fuels the 15” T9515-44 subwoofer; and the 4-channel TE1004 runs the TCX6.1 and TCX4.1 speakers. Peter used Streetwires cables (which was used throughout the install) and two Optima Yellow Top batteries.

With such a large picture, viewers have to sit a way back to see it all. On top of that, the TV wall required some floor space. This necessitated removing the middle row of seats, which left Johnson with an uneven floor surface. “To keep with the high-end theme of the R550, a new flat floor was built from two layers of ¾” MDF and mounted to the car with 4040 adhesive,” Johnson explains. Perhaps more than the TV, this part of the customization may be the highlight of the install. The high-end über-limo look is achieved by making sections of the floor cut from hardwood, which match the shape of the new base floor underneath. Custom-molded fiberglass wrapped in more matching vinyl trims the new floor distinctly.