You Can Buy A 469bhp Mercedes E55 AMG For Under £10k

If you want a rear-wheel drive AMG E63 when the next generation comes along, you’re all out of luck. With only 10 per cent of previous-gen E63 buyers opting for the rear-driven version, Mercedes hasn’t bothered making the next one with two drive layouts: it’ll be all-wheel drive only.

Sure, it will have a drift mode, but what if you want to get up to some smokey tomfoolery the old-fashioned week? And what if you’re too poor to afford the inevitable £70k+ price tag? I give you the W211 E55.

With prices starting at under £10,000 - about the same as a VW Up - they offer a stupid amount of car for the money. We’re talking a 5.4-litre supercharged V8 putting out 469bhp to the rear boots, and many, many toys and gadgets to play with. It’s no BMW M5 in the handling department, but just who cares when it offers so much power in such a subtle yet mean-looking package?

Of course, as with any car like this, you have to remember that while you can pick one up for peanuts, it still has the running costs of a £70k car. And since this isn’t an era for which Mercedes was famed for producing robust electrical systems, you can expect some hilarious bills cropping up if - sorry, when - something goes wrong.

Still, the engines are known to be pretty strong, and parts like the braking components aren’t quite as pricey as you might expect.

Feeling brave? This one looks great in Obsidian Black, has two owners from new, 92,000 miles on the clock and a full Mercedes-Benz service history. It’s yours for £11,395.