Mercedes has unveiled the first level of AMG involvement with the new E-class executive saloon. It’s not a fully blown E63 just yet; instead it’s a much more cost effective option - a trim to rival BMW’s M-sport - that could help boost the new E’s sporting credentials.

That’s something the E-class has often lacked, but the chance to add some extra testosterone to the appearance and dynamics should partly see to the problem: suspension is lowered 15mm while there’s new 18in alloys wrapped in 245/40 tyres front and 265/35 rear.

There’s a fairly subtle body kit including an AMG front apron with larger air intakes, side skirts and a rear apron while the exhaust pipes change depending on your engine choice. Four-cylinder petrols get twin oval pipes, six and eight-cylinder models get twin rectangular units while four-cylinder diesels make do with a single stainless steel tailpipe.

The inside gets a lick of sporty AMG paint in the shape of a sports steering wheel and seats as well as paddle shifters allowing manual control of the gearbox. Prices should be around £3k to add the AMG sports package to your E-class, and mated to the new four-cylinder E250 CDI it could be the best real world performance E. A combination of 201bhp and 369lb ft with 53.3mpg and 139g/km of CO2 should massively appeal to most executive saloon buyers, where diesel power has reigned for many years.

If you’d rather have the best E-class for the unreal world, a new E63 AMG is in the pipeline too, with the tried and tested 6.2-litre V8 from the current car set to put in another performance. In the outgoing E63 it offers up 507bhp and 465lb ft. However, AMG has declared itself out of the German horsepower war: the new car will be lighter and boast a wet-clutch manual gearbox that aids fuel economy. If AMG boss Volker Mornhinweg is to be believed, the hottest E-class six years down the line could be a different animal altogether…