This week in the Automotive Traveler garage we have a 4-cylinder Nissan Altima 4-cylinder coupe (more on the surprising Altima on Wenesday) so it was time for another trip to the California desert in search of more prototypes. We didn't return empty handed. We caught undisguised versions of the new Camaro (old news since we already had seen and sat in the production Camaro on Monday in North Hollywood) and a posse of Chevy Aveos which were apparently testing a miserly 1.2-liter version, but the big catch of the day was the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the next generation W212 platform.

We got lucky as we arrived in the test location at lunch time and encountered a car under a cover. Its profile was unmistakably Mercedes-Benz so I simply parked across from it, concealing myself. Test engineers, when they know they are being stalked, will go to great lengths to block the shot so having seen a G-Class parked nearby with manufacturer's plates, I didn't want to reveal my location, lest they block my shot. It's a real game of cat and mouse. This first shot was taken through the windshield of the Altima coupe. They never saw me. (Some spy shooters will be more forward, especially if they've already got a shot in the can, but as this was my first crack at the car under the cover, I preferred to keep a low profile, which paid off later in the day.)

Once they started removing the cover, I pointed my Nikon D200 out the open side window snapping off a sequence of shots. Now the profile confirmed what I suspected: some variation of the 2010 E-Class, expected to make its formal debut next September at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show. Although it's impossible to be certain from this shot, judging from the wheel/tire combination, I suspect that this is a mid-level V8 version, possibly the E500. Most notable from this view are the wheel arches and smoother rear quarter-panels, which lack the sculputral elements of the current S-Class, giving it a look of a C-Class on steroids. The C-pillar has a more upright and formal look as compared to the current W211 E-Class that dates back to its introduction in 2002. 

As the test driver pulled out he gave me a perfect view of the evolutionary changes of the front end. The limited amount of camo indicated that the grille and front fascia will be lightly tweaked from the current version with aerodynamics and improved air flow a primary consideration. As the worldwide E-Class range is very broad, ranging from 4-cylinder taxi cabs we don't see here in North America--but which might appear in 2011--up through a wide variety of mainstream V6 and V8 gasoline engines, high-powered AMG versions, Bluetec diesels, and--speculated for 2011--a diesel-electric hybrid, a first for Mercedes-Benz. Visit the Automotive Traveler Mercedes-Benz Spy Photo Image Gallery for a close-up shot of the front end in greater detail.

After letting the E-Class go off to an afternoon of high-temperature testing--it was 126 degrees--I toured my favorite locations for the next two hours but came up almost empty, just a half-dozen undisguised S-Class Mercedes-Benzes in convoy, not really worth shooting. I did hit pay dirt late in the day with the same E-Class I shot earlier. As I wasn't sure that I had captured a really good shot of the rear, I positioned myself to get a clear shot. I did attract the attention of the engineers but as they hadn't apparently seen me earlier and I hadn't yet revealed my camera they paid me little heed; their mistake as the gold G-Class could have easily blocked my shot. Again, keeping a low profile I waited until they removed the car cover and got my shot. It was now clearly apparent that the next E-Class wouldn't follow the S-Class with the Mercedes-Benz interpretation of the "Bangle Butt," thankfully in my opinion; I think the E-Class is more elegant.

As soon as the second engineer climbed into the G-Class, I started up and moved into position to get a series of rear three-quarter shots. I had blown my cover but as this would be my last shots before the five-hour drive home, it didn't matter. Snapping off another series of shots I felt exhilarated knowing that today, in spite of the best efforts of Mercedes testing engineers, I was able to get some good shots. Since the car was covered at both stops, there was no opportunity to get any interior shots; that I'll have to leave for the shooters that are covering the test sessions full-time over the course of the summer. I suspect that before Labor Day when the Mercedes-Benz engineers will be back home in Stuttgart, someone will snap the interior, giving us a complete picture of the changes in place for the 2010 model, expected, like the rest of the car, to be evolutionary.

More images of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class can be found in the Automotive Traveler Image Gallery.

If you know of more information or have additional speculations on the upcoming Mercedes-Benz E-Class, be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

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