The BMW M5 may dominate the super saloon sector but AMG versions of the Mercedes E-Class have always been there, the mismatch between the lunacy of the performance - the latest will hit 62mph in less than four seconds - and traditional sobriety of the looks always appealing. That ability to blend executive comfort with heroic performance makes a drive in any generation of AMG E-Class irresistible.
Monstrously fast yet prestigious and practical, both the saloons and estates offer genuinely astonishing performance, nearly all built around various forms of highly-tuned, hand-finished V8 powerplants. The capacity and induction has changed over the years though, with both supercharging and turbocharging employed - alongside normal aspiration - to enable AMG to wring every last horse out of their motors. And that has led to sky-high price tags, not to mention running costs to test the most optimistic man maths calculations.
But that wonder of the used car market - depreciation - has ensure that a few years down the line almost all of Mercedes mighty AMG E-Classes can be bought for just a fraction of their initial cost. So whether it's a boxy W210, a svelte W211 or a cutting edge W212 that most takes your fancy there's a charismatic AMG E-Class out there to suit almost all budgets.
But which - if any - are appreciating in value? Which make the best buys at the moment? And which AMG E-Classes are most likely to become future classics?
Many thanks to Simon Thomas, Prestige Car Service, CKS Performance Ltd, Cliff Mealing, Steve Perrett, Mercedes-Benz World (0870 400 4000), Autoclass MK, the Mercedes Benz Owners forum and the MB Club for their help with this feature