Mercedes CLK 55/63 AMG

Hard to believe you can now buy a handbuilt and hard-charging CLK 55 AMG for less than £10k. The handsome CLK coupés and convertibles were a monster hit for Mercedes in the 2000s and admired for their strong mechanicals, brilliant build and easy ownership. While most were sweetspinning CLK 200 Kompressor convertibles, a handful left Stuttgart with the epic AMG V8 that also did duty in the E 55 and SL 55.

Now prices of the W208 CLK 55 are so low it makes you want to burst out cheering. How about the £5999 being asked by JTT Autos in New Malden for an 80,000-mile 2000 coupé in blue with history, or the private seller in Okehampton with a two-owner 44,000-mile coupé for £10,250? Look harder and you can énd the facelift W209 CLK 55s for even more tempting money. Apex Performance in Hudderséeld has a 2003 coupé in silver with 79k miles for £8995. That’s 342bhp and 0-60mph in 4.9sec.

Expect only 15mpg if you enjoy yourself, but apart from the notorious W208 body rust (which AMG cars don’t seem to suffer as much from) they’re pretty easy to own.

There’s a massive price difference between coupés and convertibles and a dealer in Essex has a 2005 W209 CLK 55 drop-top in black with two owners, full history and 49,000 miles for £18,650 – probably one of fewer than 50 imported into the UK. Given its original price tag of close to £80k, that’s not expensive.

At the pinnacle of the CLK AMG pyramid comes perhaps the most compelling bargain of all – the CLK 63, and there are only 73 in the UK. Cranking out 481bhp, there’s much of the Black Series CLK’S soul in the standard car’s mechanicals and running gear. Mole Valley Group in Surrey has a 2006 silver coupé with 60k miles for £19,995 and Ashtead Motor Trading in Surrey has another 2006 in black with 44k for £25,990. The 63 convertibles are extra desirable and Manor Garage in Wiltshire has a 2007 CLK 63 cabriolet with just 22,000 miles for £34,995. It might sound a lot but 63 cabriolet values are on the rise with one Merc dealer pitching a 2007 with 20k for £42,995. Find any AMG CLK in éne condition, with dealer history and low mileage and you’ll have hit on a canny investment that will make an electrifying daily driver. As a modern classic with Porsche-baiting performance they’re unbeatable value.