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.