centennial

Audi is well accustomed to making intricately-crafted, finely-honed, shapely instruments capable of producing exquisite sounds and performances to the highest degree. Just take a look at the R8 supercar and you should need no more evidence. But for the company's centenary celebrations, Audi's design team has taken on a unique challenge, and partnered with Viennese piano-maker Bosendorfer to bring it to life.

While Porsche Design's Bosendorfer featured some intriguing elements, Audi's take on the grand piano starts from scratch. The automotive design team had to learn what goes in to making a piano, and then turned everything on its head to produce the creation you see here. The Bosendorfer Audi Design Grand Piano will make its world debut at the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt, Germany, to mark the automaker's 100th anniversary on July 16, after which it will come to market for a rather suitable €100,000...one more thing it holds in common with Audi's finest automobiles.

With its million-euro Veyron, the grandest of grand touring cars, Bugatti may be a long way from racing these days. But back in the day its Type 35 Grand Prix car was the dominating racing machine of choice for gentleman racers and professional drivers alike. Over the course of a decade in the inter-way period, the proliferation of Bugatti Type 35s achieved an unfathomable 2000 race victories at the hands of such revered pre-WWII driving aces as Jean-Pierre Wimille, Achille Varzi, Malcolm Campbell and Prinz Hermann zu Leiningen. To commemorate those glory days and celebrate its milestone anniversary, each of those drivers gave his name and racing color to one of four special edition Veyrons which the marque rolled out on the shores of Lake Como along with their historic counterparts.

No word on whether these particular Veyrons, of which only one of each will be made, will be available for sale, but if they are expect a considerable premium. The special display, which we previewed last week, is just one of a variety of anniversary celebrations which Bugatti has got lined up this year, which started with the Bleu Centenaire edition debuted in Geneva, and will include special events at Pebble Beach in August and at the company's factory in Molsheim in mid September, so stay tuned. In the meantime, why not have a glance at the images in the gallery below for a closer look at the Bugatti specials past and present.

Some logos are a dime a dozen, but some stand the test of time. Mercedes-Benz' iconic three-pointed star definitely falls in the latter category, standing out as one of the most highly recognized emblems in the world, inside or outside the automotive industry. As well it should be: it's been around for a hundred years. Back in 1909, Daimler registered the patent on the logo, and a few weeks later in the same year, Benz did the same with theirs. A century later, Mercedes-Benz is celebrating the only way it knows how: with an even more exclusive edition of one of its most high-end luxury coupes.

The "100 Years of Mercedes-Benz Edition" is a special package that can be ordered, in limited quantities, on the V8-powered CL coupe. Sold overseas as the CL500, in North America it's labeled the CL550 and comes standard with the company's proprietary 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. Special touches for the special edition include a custom interior featuring tan leather with contrasting dark grey touches, from the top-stitching to the carpeting and headliner. The exterior is painted a special dark grey as well, and comes with unique five-spoke 20-inch wheels and a new ground-effects aerodynamics package. Pricing hasn't been announced for the United States, but in its home market, Mercedes is charging a substantial €17,850 ($23k) premium for the special edition, on top of the €132 base price.