| Spy shots | 2009 Mercedes-Benz E-Class |

The next generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class was spotted by us out testing on a motorway leading to Valencia. The new car, flanked by a pair of C-Class outriggers couldn't escape our camera as it sped towards the Spanish city.

Wearing just a thin disguise, it's possible to make out the complete shape of the new car. With bold feature lines along its flanks the new E-Class echoes the styling of its C-Class relative. Around the rear the taillights spread over onto the bootlid, unlike those on the current car.

The nose is where the E-Class is most radical though; its headlamp shape is similar to that of its CLS and SL relatives, the bonnet closing over the top of the front wings. It's thought that Mercedes has been working hard to ensure that the next generation E-Class doesn't tip the scales any heavier than the existing model. Power will come from a revised range of engines based on those already available in the Mercedes line-up, including an AMG model with its 6.2-litre V8 engine. Expected to be officially revealed later this year, the next generation E-Class should be in UK showrooms some time in 2009.

Kyle Fortune - 14 Jul 2008