Masterful integration of power, poise, and refinement.

  Masterful integration of power, poise, and refinement.

But if you balance your launch in a mature manner, you can expect propul­sion of a decidedly quick nature: 0 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and a quarter-mile sprint in 13.5 seconds at 105 mph. To get that sort of thrust from a big luxury car like this, did AMG turn the E55 into a hot rod of the brutal, kidney-crushing variety?

Well, yes and no. Fast it is. Rude it ain't. In fact, so suave is this E-class muscle car that its real potential will not be recog­nized by many passengers. You could pick up your boss at the airline terminal and transport them to their hotel at quarter-throttle, and they'd swear it was a luxury ride under them. That's because the quiet 5.4-liter V-8 wuffles along with hydraulic smoothness and slurs gearshifts in a seamless sequence. Even at low revs, there's enough torque to waft up hills without losing speed or digging for another gear.

And only if the roads are bad will your VIP sense the ten­sioned suspension (35 percent higher-rate springs, Bilstein shocks, beefier stabilizer bars) and high-pressure, low-profile doughnuts under them. As for the drivers around you, they'll just recognize another E-class Benz with the Sport package they're accustomed to seeing on E430s. Unless they close up tight on the car's tail, that is, and read the chrome letters that proclaim the car to be an E55 by AMG.