It’s hard not to love an AMG, especially one that packs the now-synonymous V8 – an engine configuration that Mercedes-AMG has, in recent decades, made its own. More so than Audi, Ford or Jaguar? Yes, I’d say; Ferrari too, even…

Perhaps the one downside of the Affalterbach-based performance powerhouse’s rise to global prominence under Mercedes-Benz’s stewardship is the stealthy creep of AMG badging appearing on cars that don’t seem to have much relation to those three hallowed letters, with AMG Line being the equivalent of BMW’s M Sport and Audi’s S Line. It’s a practice designed to attract those wanting a sprinkling of glamour on their four cylinder turbodiesels but, in common with those rivals from Munich and Ingolstadt, a proliferation of halo badging can have a diluting affect.

Let’s consider the reverse though: a performance Mercedes that forgoes almost all attempts to draw attention to its prowess. Unthinkable today, but twenty-five years ago such a car was rolling not out of Affalterbach, nor Sindelfingen, but Zuffenhausen…

Looking especially handsome in ‘blau-schwarz’ (blue-black) paint, to the uninitiated the W124 saloon shell looks standard enough. Now spot the subtle outward massaging of the wheel arches and the modest 16″ eight-hole alloys that are indistinguishable in design from the 15″ version ﬁtted to lesser-endowed models, with only the low profile 255/55 tyres hinting at a difference. Happily, there is no boot spoiler to ruin the elegant lines – courtesy of Bruno Sacco’s esteemed styling department – and in keeping with the discreet theme, just three numerals and one letter sit to the left of the boot’s star: 500E.

Yes, the saloon hand-built by Porsche for Mercedes-Benz which featured the 32-valve 5.0 litre M119 V8 engine from the R129 500SL roadster, along with that model’s four piston calipers and discs. It’s a car that combines rarefied V8 brawn with timelessly subtle class and provides the perfect antidote for those experiencing the aforementioned badge fatigue; not many will know what it’s really about, but isn’t that half the appeal?

The appeal is also the 500E prices at auction as shown below. Would you pick up one of these bruisers at auction? Let us know below…

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Caesar Barton