Mercedes E55 AMG
In the early ’90s, AMG stopped being just another Mercedes tuner and became a part of the company, This meant access to Mercedes engineering facilities, and an expansion of their lineup. For all German car fans, this was fantastic news since it signaled that there will be many more AMG models in the future. And they were right. But in the late ’90s, the first widely popular and “massively” produced AMG model, which was a perfect definition of a German muscle sedan – the Mercedes E55 AMG (via Car and Driver).
The W201 generation of the venerable Mercedes E Class caused some controversies when it was new due to a strange front end with four round headlights. But buyers soon accepted it. In 1998, AMG released its ultimate version in the form of the E55 AMG. From the outside, the E55 AMG looked like any other E-Class with minimal changes. But underneath the body, there was a 5.4-liter supercharged beast just waiting to be released. With 349 hp and 391 lb.-ft of torque, the E55 AMG could accelerate from 0 to 60 in just 5.4 seconds, which was Porsche Turbo territory in the late ’90s. AMG built over 12,000 examples, which makes them relatively plentiful today. You can pick up a decent example for around $10,000, which is a steal.