Few cars will be as expensive to fuel or service as the CLK and it won’t hold its value as well as many of the cars that you might spend a similar amount of money to buy. Insurance is group 20 and tyres (which you can expect to get through rapidly with a heavy right foot) are very pricey.

It should come as no surprise that a four-seat automatic convertible with a 6.2-litre petrol engine is to be found at the anti-social end of the environmental pollution spectrum, producing 344 g/km of CO2. The Coupe emits fractionally less at 338g/km. Fuel consumption is just over 19mpg, but an enthusiastic right foot will be lucky to get even that.

Mercedes had a dip in quality during the 90s, but it seems to have rectified its shortcomings and newer models are far batter built. The AMG is incredibly well engineered, but regular maintenance is crucial on any performance car.