What's all this about?

It's Mercedes unsurprisingly filling in an E-Class Coupe-shaped hole in its model line-up jigsaw, with a, er... new E-Class Coupe. Such predictability doesn't make it any less desirable, though.

Tell us more

I'll leave the aesthetics to your own suppositions, given it does indeed have an E-Class face and that sleek rear-end design that features on everything from a C-Class Coupe up to the S-Class flagship right now. Although it's worth talking about the rear lights, which will debut a world-first from Mercedes.

Excellent, what do they do?

Um, don't get too excited - presumably responding to some mutterings from customers who reverse their cars onto their driveways, rather than pulling up in front of their homes nose-on, the Coupe's rear LED light clusters illuminate from the centre of the car outwards upon unlocking, and then do the opposite light show when closing the car. Think of it as the E-Class Coupe saying 'hello' and 'goodbye', in a language the aliens from Close Encounters of the Third Kind might understand.

Any more exterior details?

Just that we're only likely to get the E-Class Coupe in AMG Line trim here in the UK, thanks to its sporty image (Mercedes operates a similar policy with the S-Class Cabriolet), and that it has grown in every conceivable dimension - length, breadth, height, track, wheelbase, rear legroom... you name it, it's bigger - compared to its predecessor, meaning that, with its frameless side windows and absence of a B-pillar, Mercedes claims it can take four adults in comfort. With an additional 74mm of knee room in the back (912mm in total), we're not inclined to doubt the company's word on this one.

Can you tell me more about the interior aesthetic?

As standard, you get an instrument cluster with twin-tube analogue dials flanking a seven-inch digital display, plus the 8.4-inch infotainment screen in the centre console. All very nice, but if you've already seen or been inside a high-spec E-Class, you'll know the option to go for is the one called the 'floating widescreen cockpit' by Mercedes. This includes two beautiful 12.3-inch TFT screens on the dash and in the cluster, which are linked together under one sheet of glass to create a truly upmarket ambience. Add in such creature comforts as Touch Control buttons for the infotainment on the steering wheel, 64-colour adjustable mood lighting, voice control, the Mercedes Me concierge service, full connectivity thanks to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and any number of driver assist features like Active Brake Assist, Drive Pilot, Remote Parking Pilot, Multibeam LED headlamps and Magic Vision Control, and it's easy to see the Mercedes E-Class Coupe will be as much of a technofest as its existing saloon, Estate and All-Terrain siblings.

What have we got under the bonnet?

At launch, three petrol engines and one diesel, most of which drive the rear wheels alone through the solitary transmission choice on all cars, the excellent nine-speed 9G-Tronic automatic. Entry point is the E 200 petrol, a four-cylinder 2.0-litre turbocharged motor with 184hp and 300Nm. It'll do 149mph, 0-62mph in 7.8 seconds and around 47mpg (final figures to be precisely homologated), while emitting 136g/km of CO₂. You can 'uprate' this same four-banger to the more powerful E 300, which alters the correlating stats to 245hp, 370Nm, 155mph (limited), 6.4 seconds, 44mpg and 147g/km.

Where does the diesel fit in?

The E 220 d, featuring that new 2.0-litre turbocharged unit that is replacing the venerable old 2.1, slots between the aforementioned models. It has 194hp and 400Nm, good enough for a 150mph top whack and a 7.4-second 0-62mph time. Eco-data reads 71mpg and a mere 106g/km of CO₂ coming out of the exhausts.

So what's left at the pinnacle, an AMG 43?

Well, this is the intriguing bit. Sitting atop the E-Class Coupe tree is a petrol model with the 3.0-litre V6 turbocharged mill that, yes, is found in any number of the new 43-badged models - the Mercedes-AMG C 43, the E 43, the GLC 43, the SLC 43... you get the picture. However, the E-Class variant does not, as yet, have any association with Affalterbach and so is badged like the SL model with this same engine: the launch flagship is thus called the E 400 4Matic. Yes, that means it's all-wheel drive (more 4Matic versions, and indeed more engines, are on the way, Mercedes assures us). It is slightly detuned from the familiar 367hp/500Nm '43' or SL 400 application, and therefore it's some way off the 401hp/520Nm you'd get in a Mercedes-AMG E 43 saloon, with headline figures of 333hp and 480Nm. Still quick, though; 0-62mph comes up in just 5.3 seconds and it, like the E 300, is limited to 155mph. Expect around 35mpg and 183g/km of CO₂ from the E 400 4Matic Coupe.

Any words on prices or release dates?

As to prices, nothing confirmed, but expect a few grands' worth of premium on top of the saloon, which starts at around £36,000; it wouldn't be beyond the wit of a reasonable man or woman to expect a starting ticket in the 40 grand ballpark. As to the launch date, it'll be in German showrooms from April 2017, so it should be in the UK very, very soon after that.