When I arrive at Kyalami for the start of this epic, only the Audi R8 has already arrived. The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione remains locked-up in one of the pit garages, awaiting the correct moment to make its dramatic appearance, and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Lamborghini Gallardo SuperLeggera are still wending their way towards the track through some pretty hefty traffic.

It's a mouth-watering collection of cars , and we can't wait to see them all side-by-side out on their natural habitat, the smooth tarmac of SA's premiere racing venue, Kyalami.

Kicking the tyres

The quintet all feature very different takes on the supercar theme. R8 packs a high-tech but familiar 4.2-litre FSI V8, mounted amidships and hooked-up to a driving-optimised quattro drivetrain, clothed in undeniably sexy bodywork (albeit slightly too close to a TT) with carbon fibre peeking out of key areas.

Lamborghini, being Audi-owned, sports a similar layout, but this most hardcore of Gallardos features more liberal smatterings of carbonfibre to drive down its overall weight, and a wailing V10 somewhat beefier than the mill fitted to the standard car. It's audibly punchier too thanks to a sportier exhaust system, and the interior has been pared-down to better suit its road-racer credentials. There is nothing, however, anything less than spectacular about this vehicle in the flesh, those extreme angles and ground-hugging stance saying everything you need to know about its performance even when it parks up and the engine is turned off.

The Porsche is shockingly startling, and it isn't just the bright-green paintwork either. For a shape that in most ways is absolutely classic — after all the styling of the 911 has changed only subtly for some 40 years now — the race-ready addenda screams the intent of the GT3 RS. As does the body-coloured latticework of heavy-duty tubing behind the seats which make up the integrated roll-cage, and the rasping, rip-snorting noise of the flat-six slung out behind, which actually hearkens back to the older air-cooled models. No AWD to harness the urge of this motor, heavily breathed-upon by Porsche's race engineers, just lots of weight over the rear wheels and fat, sticky, track-optimised rubber.

Finally, the roller-doors barring us access to the 8C are unlocked, and the drop-dead gorgeous coupe with the mammoth task of reinvigorating Alfa's hardcore heritage fires up with loud flare of revs and rolls out into the sunny pitlane. What a looker this car is, finished in historic hues which almost hide the weave of the all-carbon bodywork. The 8C Competizione has fulsome, sensuous curves in places where even other supercar manufacturers have forgotten curves could go, and the way the light plays over this carbonfibre piece of automotive artistry is not dissimilar to sunlight glinting off of glistening droplets of water being shed from a bikini-clad Angelina Jolie. It might just be me, but the looks on the faces of the assembled onlookers suggests that it isn't. Under the skin, there's a 4.7-litre V8 upfront, derived from the powerplants found in modern Maseratis, powering the rear wheels via a paddle-shift DuoSelect transmission.

With each car adequately salivated over, of which the 8C has collected by far the highest volume, it's time to go…

Lighting the fires

A Lamborghini starting up is always an epic event, and though this is 'merely' a V10, it's no less special I assure you. That same, distinctive, drill-like starter motor whirrs and almost reluctantly all 10 cylinders roar into life with an extroverted flare of revs before settling to a busy, fast-sounding idle.

Meanwhile the GT3 RS startup ritual has all-but passed unnoticed, the engine springing into life unobtrusively, and only really sounding as special as it is when the throttle is deliberately blipped. Typically German, understated until it's time to really lay the cards out.

A stereotype which the R8 promptly blows out the window. Forget the fact that the V8 beneath the see-through engine cover is the same housed in the more mundane RS4 — in this application it sounds absolutely fantastically throaty low-down in the rev-range, which morphs into a high-tech shriek as you chase the redline. The R8 is the perfect platform from which to truly allow this stunning motor to shine forth, and Audi hasn't squandered the opportunity.

Finally, the Alfa's V8 barks into life, and, as with the drool-test administered earlier, again steals the show. The blip of throttle which the startup procedure prompts is nothing short of gratuitous, and the noise spat from the exhausts spine-tingling in its animal ferocity. None of the cars here can be deemed in any way ordinary, but the Alfa still manages to look as well as sound the best.

From this point on however, some cracks in the (until now) seemingly impregnable armour start to show…

The inescapable practicalities

Unfortunately, 'our' 8C is actually a bit of a patchy thing. It's a development mule, you see, so the interior is littered with duct-tape and exposed wiring, and has clearly lived rather a hard life. Still, the fittings should, for the most part, be the same as the final, production car, and it isn't encouraging. The instrument cluster features bold markings but is marred by a central digital display almost identical to that of our 159 long-termer, while the remainder of the interior trappings fall short of the impossibly sexy, flashy exterior of the car.

The Porsche also features dials and a dash layout quite familiar to those accustomed to 911 ergonomics, but nonetheless feels supremely special thanks to super-tight bucket seats which are absolute racecar refugees and a wheel trimmed in suede rather than the leather you might be expecting. What's more, every glance in the mirror has you clocking that cage, which in addition to the rifle-bolt gearshift action and ultra-stiff suspension never leave you in any doubt as to what you're piloting. The most hardcore of a highly evolved breed focussed at just one thing — high-performance driving.

And yet, it's the Superleggera which smashes home its point the most. The cockpit of this thing looks like a fighter-jet, and even though the doors don't feature the classic scissor method of operation, you're bathed in a feeling of absolute exclusivity from the time you walk up to the time you've parked-up and are walking away.

Why haven't I mentioned the R8 yet? Well, it's because it is just too damn well-rounded! Sitting in the hot-seat feels very much like sitting in any other sporty product available from the four-ringed brand! All right, so you sit a bit lower than normal, and that delightful, gated transmission is a clear statement of supercar intent, but otherwise standing still, at least you could be forgiven for wondering just how this body-kitted TT has any hope of keeping up with the full-blown exotica lined up before it.

Hitting the tar

And now, finally, the drive.

Now we didn't have these vehicles, nor Kyalami in fact, for long enough to put each one through our traditional hot lap regime, but managed to grab enough time in each to at least get some basic impressions. And for the most part, basic impressions in this case are enough.

Kicking off with the 8C, that gearbox doesn't immediately impress, making for jerky pull offs and a helluva time when manoeuvring the vehicle just so for our new, picky photographic team! Once you're on the move it's all right, but lacking the ferocity of the e-Gear set-up fitted to Lambo's finest or even the F1-shift that comes with the Ferrari F430.

It certainly shifts, that monumental wall of noise shoving the lightweight RWD coupe up the road with seemingly undiminished force when you open the taps all the way. And through the corners it's a tactile delight, genuinely engaging the driver in the way in which an Alfa must to maintain the best images of the brand. It helps that its V8 develops a fulsome 331kW, the second most of all the cars assembled here, although the weight of the 8C means the 0-100km/h dash takes a little longer than expected, at 4.5 seconds according to the manufacturer.

It's peculiarly soft through the bends though, despite seeming rock-hard on straighter stuff.

On this point, it's interesting to note that the 8C is in fact not built by Alfa Romeo. It's made on Maserati's line, and when the option came up to incorporate this Italian manufacturer's adaptive damping set-up, called Skyhook, the Snake 'n Shield boys turned it down flat. Perhaps this should be returned to the options list in our opinions…

Naturally, the Superleggera absolutely eats up the smooth surface beneath it, and slices through the bends with absolute confidence while generating mammoth lateral loadings, which seem to introduce no bodyroll whatsoever!

The e-Gear transmission is also not the most spectacular thing when pootling, but at maximum attack it absolutely comes into its own, allowing you to concentrate completely on your braking points and steering inputs to extract the most of this staggering performance envelope.

The real trick to this show-stopping performance is also not that monster V10 and the group-leading 390kW it produces, but rather all that carbonfibre which keeps this baby supercar’s weight down to 1360kg. Which translates to a rip-snorting 3.8-second dash from rest to the benchmark ton, which is blisteringly rapid no matter what you line up against!

Both the 911 and Audi develop almost identical power outputs, although the 911 is the more impressive engineering feat being down two cylinders and a good few hundred ccs on the R8's 4.2-litre FSI V8, and although AWD versus RWD, the latter wins with a 4.2-second claimed 0-100km/h run, versus the Audi's slightly slower 4.6 secs.

Although the R8 may feel a bit ordinary from behind the wheel at times, when you commit completely it comes alive beautifully. This is a chassis which has been built to have a bit of a play, and even with Quattro driving all four wheels you can call the tail into play at your whim, and control it with relative ease despite the mid-engined layout.

The GT3 RS may still have its engine all the way out in the back, but this chassis has been absolutely perfected with that weight distribution in mind. It's punishingly hard, although on the track this isn't a concern, and engages the driver on every level while performing a virtuoso act of sheer technical brilliance on the grip front. It is without a doubt the most honed track weapon of these four however.

So which to take?

Well, cop-out time methinks. You see, given the money, we'd all really have all four of these beauties in our dream garage. The Superleggera when we're out to scare ourselves witless with sheer brutality, the 911 GT3 RS when the aim is to dissect a smooth, clean racetrack with clinical precision, the 8C Competizione for drooling over and the odd bout of sheer oversteering drama, and the R8 — well it really is an accomplished enough all-rounder to be the one we'd use on a day-to-day basis.

Although, having said that, a supercar which is sufficiently compromised to excel in every situation largely defeats the point, as highlighted by the ruthlessly focussed Superleggera which, if given the option of only one to take home, would ultimately take my vote.

The 8C just isn't hardcore enough from a handling perspective, while the 911 treads too far on the other extreme once you leave the track.

Lamborghini's Gallardo Superleggera gets every compromise it needs to make just right, and is simply achingly desirable as a result...