German manufacturers are determined that well-heeled British motorists will ride out the credit crunch in comfort and style.

Audi has just opened the order books for its latest A6 line-up, which goes on sale in the UK soon, with saloons costing from £24,800, and estates priced at £26,370 and upwards.

It is not an all-new car range, more of a subtle re-style, but both new and updated engines appear under the bonnet.

Audi is keen to stress the powerplant side of the A6 facelift, because owners of executive cars such as this one have to be seen to be doing their bit for the environment.

The engines bring an average 12 per cent improvement in fuel economy and emissions output, and the lead-in model, a 2.0-litre turbo diesel, returns an overall 53mpg with 139g/km of CO2 emissions.

Those figures will make this TDIe model a top seller in Britain, but motoring movers and shakers will be looking closely at the supercharged 3.0-litre petrol unit.

This 287 horsepower powerplant, costing £35,290 in quattro, or four-wheel-drive, saloon form, can whizz the car to 62mph from standstill in just 5.9 seconds, and it has its top speed restricted electronically to 155mph.

The new A6 will retain the impressive cabin space, quality, and the general controls layout of the outgoing model, but embellished with higher resolution graphics for the instrument panel, new upholstery materials, and additional chrome detailing to the car's fascia.

On the outside, there are revisions to the grille, bumpers, air intakes and fog lights at the front, and at the rear there is a re-sculpted saloon boot lid and redesigned tail lights. Rival German outfit is bringing a new BMW X6 flagship to Britain in November, the £53,930 xDrive50i.

The driving force behind the 155mph xDrive50i is a twin-turbocharged, V8, 4.3-litre petrol engine, which gives it an impressive 0 to 62mph figure in 5.4 seconds.

It is only offered with an automatic gearbox, but is slightly more frugal, cleaner emissions-wise, and quicker, than the Range Rover Sport. The big Beamer’s overall mpg is 22.6. The other news from BMW concerns its grand tourer range, the 6 Series, which now gets a new sports package to enhance driving and add a sportier look.

Edition Sport variants get a new, contoured bonnet for a more aggressive look, bespoke 19-inch light alloy wheels, and the famed M anti-roll stabilisation system for improved handling.

The package is available on all non-M derivatives, with prices pitched at £53,445 for a 630i Edition Sport Coupe, and rising to £65,820 for a 650i Edition Sport Convertible.

Finally, after more than 100 potential customers signed up at the recent British International Motor Show in London, to test-drive the new high-performance Aspid sports car, its maker, IFR Automotive, is seeking to recruit UK dealers.

OK, this one is not German, but it is built a little way down the European road in Spain, and the price keeps it firmly in the premium motor market.

The lightning-fast two-seater, which will cost from £75,000 for the standard 2.0-litre, 270 horsepower engine when it arrives here early next year, will be a fairly exclusive car — IFR says it will build fewer than 50 of them a year.

So dealer opportunities for the “Bugatti from Barcelona” — as one motoring magazine described it — here in Britain will be very restricted.