Mercedes C-Class AMG: Market Watch

The new AMG C63 is close, so which is the best C-Class AMG from the back catalogue to buy? PH investigates

C-Class AMGs have always been objects of desire. Part hedonistic boy's toy, part luxurious cruiser, even the estates are guaranteed envious glances. Starting in 1993 with its straight-six C36, AMG's C-Classes have evolved organically - each new model raising the performance bar one notch higher.

C-Class AMG story now more than 20 years old

Much more of a complete package, the W202 C43 AMG was the first to carry a normally aspirated V8 and although the subsequent W203 supercharged V6 C32 AMG wasn't universally admired it did offer more contemporary styling.

Mercedes returned to V8 power with its faster and more aurally pleasing W203 C55 AMG, before lifting the benchmark once again to produce its most recent W204 C63 AMG models.

Past masters of blending the sensible with the silly, AMG now sells thousands of cars - a far cry from the early days. But despite the huge increase in demand they remain bespoke high-performance driving machines, with price tags to match.

V8, V6, saloon, estate - spoilt for choice!

But though many aspire to own an AMG C-Class, relatively few have had the financial clout to do so - until recent times. A continued increase in production volumes has led to a decline in residual values of many AMG models as they age - including the C-Class. So buyers now have an appealing choice of relatively affordable used saloons and estates.

With asking prices ranging from just a few thousand pounds to over £100K there's an AMG C-Class out there to suit almost all budgets. But which models are appreciating in value? Which make the best track day weapons? And which C-Class AMGs are guaranteed to become future classics?