An L of an Audi

Back in the 80s, if your dad brought home any car with an L badge on it, you’d have been a bit embarrassed in the schoolyard. L usually denoted the base model; if it wasn’t a GLX or at least a GL, then it clearly wasn’t all that desirable.

Audi has turned the tables on that, reserving the letter for its flagship, range-topping A8. On the Audi, the little chrome L badge signifies the long wheelbase: the extra 130mm makes for a limo length of 5.27 metres.

The massive A8 land-yacht has all the luxuries you’d expect, even at the entry level £58,000 end, but it’s the W12 L version pictured here that really pushes the limits of what a car can offer. The 6.3-litre, 12-cylinder, 500PS engine impels it up to its electronically limited 155mph so effortlessly you wonder how fast it could actually go if unchecked. But despite its sheer size, lavishness and presence, it is nothing if not impeccably tasteful.

A wolf in wolf’s clothing

Tasteful, on the other hand, is not a word BMW would ever use to describe its M3. M3 drivers don’t want to be understated or classy, they want to be lairy and in your face. With that in mind, BMW is offering its new super-M3, the GTS, in one colour only: this hairy-chested, pelvic-thrusting orange.

You’ll see it coming, that’s for sure – but it might only be a blur. It’s designed to have ‘on-road capability’, so BMW has made it clear this is first and foremost a racetrack weapon. Motorsport-derived technology includes plenty of lightweight titanium and carbon fibre, and a beefed-up version of the standard M3’s V8. The GTS engine is uprated from 3,999cc to 4,361cc, power is up from 420hp to 450hp, and an extra 40Nm of torque makes 440Nm.

Due to start production for the UK in 2011, prices have yet to be announced, but don’t expect it to be cheap. One thing’s for sure though: it will be monstrously fast.