wasn't knocking it, personally I think that the M and the AMG models are some of the best options if you like to be low key.

Just debadge them, and 99% of people won't know that you have the high end version.

Audi S line is kinda good too, but they really dropped the ball this generation. The S4/S5 are barely making enough power to compete with the 335i. The upcoming RS5 should fix that, but Audi is probably going to charge so much for those, that the $60K M3 will look like a bargain by comparison.