Yes, they have stuffed their fantastic V8 into the front of Mercedes’ mid-size all-wheel drive family wagon, the GLC. Along with plenty more specific AMG stuff from other full-fat AMGs. Along with, for heaven’s sake, a Race mode…

A Discovery Sport-sized SUV with AMG’s magic number 63 next to it was always going to hold plenty of allure, and so it seems. On paper at least the new GLC 63 4Matic, available in both saloon and coupe forms, rewrites the rulebook in the sporty SUV class, one already hardly lacking in high-performance drivers’ cars.

For starters, it’s unique in the class for having a V8, unless you include the SVR Range Rover Sport but at £100k or so that’s really a different proposition. AMG doesn’t want you to miss the fact that it’s a V8, either. Flaps in the exhaust can deliver standard V8 burble, extra burble or, as an option, a super burble to really scare the horses.

The thunder is not without its lightning. The 4.0-litre biturbo unit, already familiar from a host of other AMGs, delivers 476ps (469bhp) in standard form and 510ps (503bhp) in S guise.