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.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
I sat in one of these not too long ago and I must say, it is stupidly awesome! Walking up to the car with a friend who ive just met led me to believe that the amg tag on the back was fake (didn’t look like your usual amg). Jumped into the vehicle and I was welcomed by your usual Mercedes comfort and luxuries. We turned the car around between the small talk me and my new found friend were having he left the traffic lights with his foot welded to the floor. For a car of its size, and the fact it looked like your regular E class merc, I was blown away! My chest was pushed into the back of the seat almost immediately and it felt like the car was ready to go onto it’s back two wheels as soon as we took off. The torque this vehicle has was something I greatly admired and had me shock and awe at each time the driver teased the throttle. We came onto a dual carriageway where the driver thought best to put his foot down. At this point I watched and analysed at how frighteningly fast the speedo was going up as if with ease, as if the engine saying “is that all you got?”. With the speed increasing by the second it felt as though you were in a spaceship as everything would begin to warp around you and roadlights and signs would fly past you - making me confused as the ride comfort and Mercedes ability in creating the illusion that you’re going WAY faster than what it feels like.
Anyway, this was my experience in this car. I only decided to crwate thid post because it is not often I find myself in a vehicle that has also been featured on CT.
I never really appreciated Mercedes, always considered them to be luxury vehicles with ‘a bit’ of power. Now I realise just whag they are capable of. (My eyes widened later that evening, lying in bed, when I realised the car I was in is so many years old! Imagine what these new Mercedes are capable of!)
Hey Matt! I just made a meme about that a month ago regarding the E55 being cheap! lol
but…. but auto……
As a W211 E55 owner, I can tell you all this damn car wants to do is spin its wheels. I go anywhere near the throttle and the engine is in an all bare knuckle boxing match with the stability control. This was especially apparent when I had bald tires and burn out at half throttle with traction on, but once you get going that engine is marvelous. The torque is immense, overtaking on the freeway is so much fun with the V8 roaring and supercharger screaming. ALTHOUGH this car is it a lot of fun, as my daily driver driving in a very economical fashion averages ~9mpg city and ~21 mpg highway at best.