It's become enshrined in tradition that every year the kingdom's strongest gladiators assemble to lock swords in a showdown of epic proportion.

The battle has become known as Performance car of the year, and those that fight it come from all corners of the more inspiring ranks of four-wheeled society. Some resemble David and others Goliath and it's all fair game thanks to the scoring process that sees each fighter judged in accordance with what we'd expect at its price level. In the end, only one will become Cars in Action's king of performance cars.

The first battle ground was Kyalami Raceway, where the 11-car field got narrowed down to just five warriors, which then rounded up their horses and left town in search of some great driving roads in the countryside, where the battle would come to an exciting conclusion.

» Read more about each of the contenders

The contestants in this year’s crusade for the most part had little in common, barring the fact that they all qualify as performance cars and they all excited us in some way in the past year. Technically one of them is not even a car.

Let's start at the top of the pecking order — those cars that few would be able to avoid drooling over.

Aston Martin's V8 Vantage N400 is a machine that exudes beauty from all angles and it's a rather special limited edition too, but is this exclusive sports car worth its R1.9-million price tag?

We could ask the same question of the equally seductive Maserati GranTurismo S. Especially when faced with four cars that cost less than half, yet leave little dynamic exclusivity to the exotic pair.

Two of these are super saloons, and here we re-ignite the battle between the brute-like Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG and more refined BMW M3 Sedan.

But wait. There could be an unexpected hero in the form of Audi's S5 Coupe — we were smitten by its dynamic ability earlier this year, but does it have enough cream to rise to PCOTY's top?

Or will we be charmed by the sheer brutality of Subaru’s latest Impreza STi? Or the stately presence and smooth shove offered by the Jaguar XF SV8?

Of course, PCOTY never forgets the performance cars that a far greater percentage of the population can actually afford and this year the facelifted Ford Focus ST, which proved a real hoot during our recent track test, flew the hot hatch flag along with another little thriller, the Opel Corsa OPC.

Just in the nick of time, we also rounded up the even more affordable new Toyota Yaris TS just before its official launch. Will this affordable hatch punch above its weight?

Then there’s the wildcard that should really instead feature in our sister title, Bakkie & Truck Action magazine. But if you've been reading our long-term updates on our bright orange Chev Ute you'll understand why it's here, keeping the rest of the field on its toes…

On Thursday we name the top five, on Friday the winner is revealed...

» On to the first contender: Aston Martin Vantage N400

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