The cars Mercedes-Benz was making back in the 1980s oozed class, although some may think them less stylish than today’s graceful models. One of the classiest was the beautiful 300CE, the coupe version of the E-Class platform. Its lines were thought to be conservative, while others praised them for being the pose of elegance.

Under the sleek covering are a superb chassis and a smooth engine that delivered surprisingly energetic performance when commanded to do so. To purchase a 300CE when new you had to pay out nearly $130,000. That put them out of the reach of most of us; but now they’re quite affordable, making them a tempting used prestige buy.

The 300CE coupe was based on the new W124 E-Class released in the United States in 1986, albeit on an 85-mm shorter wheelbase than its sedan brother. Underneath it rode on the same competent W124 platform. A combination of coil springs and telescopic shocks at the front worked in tandem with a five-link independent rear suspension to give the 300CE a solid foundation for responsive handling. The handling was typical of Mercedes-Benz, starting out with understeer at low speeds before becoming more balanced as the speed climbs. The result was a supreme feeling of confidence in the road holding. Powerful disc brakes slow the heavy coupe with ease, and standard ABS added to the coupe’s braking prowess.

Under the impressive hood lays an inline six-cylinder engine with fuel-injection. The 3.0-litre six has a single overhead camshaft with two valves per cylinder and is mated to a smooth-shifting four-speed automatic transmission; the only transmission offered with this model. Under normal acceleration it started off in second gear, which made it feel a bit listless, but if you buried your right foot into the loud pedal it came to life in a most unexpected manner. When properly stirred the 300CE could be quite the performer, taking around eight seconds to accelerate from a standstill to 60-mph, with its top speed around 135-mph.

Inside, the two-door body offers spacious accommodation for four adults in individual bucket seats. Air conditioning was standard, along with power seats, windows, antenna and heated mirrors; cruise control, central locking, power steering and a four-speaker radio cassette sound system. The approximate mileage of 73,000 is shown to be actual.

This particular white with tan leather example sports the very desirable AMG package with a Mosselman twin turbo engine providing incredible performance. Other features include white-faced instrumentation, two-piece AMG wheels and aerodynamic fender flares. The coupe’s styling was elegant and remains so today when many other cars of the era have dated quickly. Almost 20 years after it was first launched the 300CE is a handsome car, still radiating the solid prestige that comes with the Mercedes-Benz badge.