Stuttgart, Germany - Right on the eve of the Frankfurt motor show, Mercedes-Banz has amped up the hype another notch with the announcement of two special-edition E-Class two-door models - the Sport Edition and the V8 Edition.
And yes, Cyril, they will be available in South Africa - at a price.
The Sport Edition will be available to order as either a coupé or a cabriolet with any of the standard E-Class engine options, in any colour you want, although the metallic blue you see in the picture is exclusive to these special-edition models.
It comes with 18 inch AMG alloy rims over perforated front brake discs and callipers with Mercedes-Benz lettering, running on Agility Control sports suspension with shorter, stiffer springs and tauter damping than standard.
A special front apron with distinctive air inlets and a high-gloss black louvre with chrome trim in the grille make it unmistakeable from the front, set off by an AMG boot-lid spoiler in body colour, a diffuser-style rear apron and dual exhausts with trapezoidal tailpipe tips.
The driver and front passenger are gently but firmly located in multicontour seats trimmed with black leather and finished with blue and grey top-stitching throughout the interior; for a few dollars more, ask for super-soft black or natural beige nappa leather.
Trim elements in cross-grain bright aluminium are standard; glossy black ash, black piano lacquer finish or dark-anodised aluminium are options.
The finishing touch is a three-spoked multifunction sports steering wheel with silver shift paddles and brushed stainless-steel pedals with rubber studs.
All of which will set you back R24 500 on top of the base price for which engine variant you've chosen.
V8 ONLY
The V8 Edition, unsurprisingly, will only be available on the E500 coupé or cabriolet chassis and, once again, brilliant metallic blue is the signature (although not compulsory) colour.
Given that the standard E500 is already a pretty serious muscle-car in its own right, the special trim on the V8 Edition is as much about luxury and style as it is about sports kit.
You still get the Agility Control sports suspension, in this case with selectable 'Sport' mode to tighten up both the chassis and transmission dynamics, rolling on 19 inch AMG multi-spoked alloys finished in high-gloss titanium paint.
The multicontour front seats spoil you with four-way lumber support and memory package - which also adjusts the steering reach and height, and the side mirrors, to your preferred settings.
The interior is trimmed in soft nappa leather in either off-white or red with black edging, as is the multifunction sports steering wheel with flattened bottom section and contrasting top-stitching, while the instrument panel and centre console are dressed in black nappa leather with off-white or red top-stitching abd “V8 Edition” lettering stitched into the seatbelts and the trim seam of the black-edged velour floor-mats.
And finally, included in the package - which will add R35 000 to the base price of your E500 - is automatic climate control with three zones, three levels of intensity and fine-particle activated charcoal air filter.