Code-named W212 and due at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, we caught a lightly disguised model close to Mercedes’ test base at the German Nurburgring.

The company will abandon SBC in favour of conventional brakes, although they will boast features such as wet-weather disc wiping and wheel-selective cornering brake control. Optional ceramic-composite discs could be introduced top-down, starting with the AMG models. The next E-Class will ape the S-Class’s wheel-arch extensions, rising character line below the door handles, massive bumpers, and greenhouse. A more sculpted wide-frame grille, the more geometric nasal air intakes, and the wedge-shaped profile should give W212 a sportier stance.