15 May 06
In the E-Class's graduated aspirational pecking order the E500 retains its special place and badging nomenclature, but has taken on even more muscle. Gone is the 10-year-old 5-litre V8 to be replaced by a higher-tech 5.5-litre counterpart.
Up goes the power output and down comes the acceleration time from rest to 62 mph, by 0.7 of a second to 5.3 seconds. The engine and seven-speed automatic transmission combine to justify that overworked term, seamless. There is a progressive surge of acceleration, which minimises the amount of time spent on the wrong side of the road when overtaking.
With a hefty 1,785kg car the rapid build up of momentum is kept in check with a new, more manageable braking system and the air suspension seems at its most composed allied to this powertrain combination.
Topping the E-Class's price and power league is the mighty E 63 AMG, its normally aspirated engine churning out 507bhp. This is a raging bull of a car, thrashing, rumbling and bellowing its way through the engine rev range.
Inevitably the chassis is the firmest in the family, but not bone-jarring, and well-heeled hooligans intent on depositing expensive layers of tyre rubber on Tarmac will be frustrated by Mercedes's wheelspin-inhibiting technology.
Not subtle, (0-62mph in 4.5 seconds), not cheap (£66,545) and not economical (19.7mpg) it is a road-going embodiment of the brand's motorsport lineage.
