Last year, '09 E-Class mules where covered in plastic bodypanels and thick disguise. Nowadays, its thin piece of tape here and there.
The new spy photos show athinly covered E-Class sedan undergoing hot-weather testing in Death Valley, CA. It is easy to see the chiseled lines, with only the smallest of details hidden beneath black camouflage. No specifications have been released, but expect information to begin trickling out as the 2009 E-Class draws closer to its official debut at next years Frankfurt motorshow.
Moving over the the 2010 E63, it'll be meaner and greener than the outgoing model. The tuning arm of Mercedes-Benz is rapidly approaching its peak in terms of horsepower, so cleaning up emissions while maintaining performance is the key for the future. This 2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG spotted testing on the Nürburgring could be the first of AMG's new green machines.
Mercedes-Benz officials have gone on record saying that all of the company's future engines will be turbocharged, so it's likely that AMG will follow suit. With that in mind, this sedan might not be an E63 at all, as the addition of one turbo or two would likely mean a smaller-displacement engine. Either way, there will be at least 500bhp and a healthy amount of low-end torque to ensure that this super sedan can keep pace with its German rivals.
Like the other E-Class sedan prototypes we've seen before, this test mule reveals only evolutionary changes to the overall shape of the midsize sedan. This AMG version gets a deeper airdam with a pair of brake-cooling ducts at each front corner. They feed air to a serious-looking set of drilled rotors fitted with oversize calipers. There's not much of a body kit, and the rear fascia shows only minor changes compared to the current model. And like almost all AMG models, there are quad tailpipes poking out from the relatively clean rear fascia.
The public debut of the standard Mercedes-Benz E-Class isn't expected until early next year, so you probably won't see the 2010 E63 AMG until late 2009 at the earliest.
Via Edmunds InsideLine > 2010 Mercedes E63 AMG sedan spy video
Related links: