THESE are the first official pictures of the new look Mercedes E-Class coupe and cabriolet which will be hitting the streets later this year.

Both feature sharply restyled fronts and come with extra safety systems as well as two new engines.

The changes follow the makeover of the E-Class saloon and estate which Mercedes announced in December.

Like the other two, the nose job for the cabriolet and coupe includes single lens headlamps but to underscore their performance credentials they also get sports grilles and have pronounced air intakes in the front valance.

Significantly the two three-door cars retain the characteristic ‘Ponton' bulge on the rear wing, a style feature which has been dropped from the saloon and the estate.

The cabriolet now comes with the Mercedes' Aircap wind deflector as standard - a device which pops up from the top of the windscreen when the hood is down to reduce buffeting inside the cockpit.

It activates automatically at 25mph and retracts at 9mph while a draught stop behind the rear head restraints is self adjusting when the back seats are occupied.

The Airscarf heater which blows warm air from the seat backs remains an option.

As with the saloon and estate cars, the coupe and cabriolet will be fitted with a forward facing camera which can scan the road up to 50 yards ahead to give early warning of hazards.

Electromechanical power steering is also being introduced which Mercedes claims improves responsiveness as well as enabling the cars to have automatic parking systems fitted.

Inside there are changes to the instrument cluster and the dash can be trimmed either in wood or aluminium.

Three diesel and two petrol engines, all fitted with stop/start, will be available initially with the petrol versions featuring the new Mercedes four cylinder BlueDIRECT technology which the company claims offers improved fuel efficiency for the E200 and E250 models.