Way back when in the late '70s, a new car genre emerged. Volkswagen introduced a machine called the Golf GTi, a little car developed without authority in Wolfsburg backrooms by a dedicated bunch of enthusiast engineers that proved so successful that VW had no option but to put that Scirocco-enhanced hot hatchback onto the market.

GTi was a giant killer of note. It arrived in South Africa with an equally big bang ? albeit a good few years after and its first evolution later ? dominating SA's first ever production car race at the Killarney six-hour against far more powerful opposition.

That was also the beginning of a new motoring era ? the hot hatch was here and every man and his dog soon had something out there to tackle VW's little legend. Among the notable efforts worth remembering were Peugeot's early 204 and 205 GTis ? although they never came to South Africa, their legend was supreme.

Locals will, however, remember Opel's SA-bred T-car Kadett GSi that culminated in the king of the '90s, the Superboss, while Volksie fought back with the GTi 16V and later the VR6, which duly brought V6 punch to the battle...

More recently, battle lines have tightened and as any Production Car Race would attest, it's war out there between the likes of VW's best Golf GTI since that great original, SEAT's Leon Cupra, the Ford Focus ST, Opel Astra OPC, Mazda6 MPS, Mini Cooper S Works, RenaultSport Megane and the rest.

Today it's all about power, poise and panache, but these mostly turbocharged machines are all still hot hatches to the core. They're quick rides that handle well and look so much the part ? and sell like hotcakes ? each developing its own cult following that hangs about like a faction looking for a street fight with the next...

All this activity has naturally drawn new players into the fold and, like when VW first introduced that VR6, the newcomers are looking at ways of pushing the hot hatch boundaries further and further. And there are some serious new players out there who traditionally never competed in this particular arena, but who could no longer stay away.

These newcomers also bring and expertise that the rest can't compete with at the moment. And in so doing, they've pushed the hot hatch genre into a new world.

Enter the superlightweight...

See, the cars here all rewrite the rules so significantly that they can no longer really be called a hot hatch. The Audi S3, for instance, is an all-wheel drive car that, while being a turbo four-pot, is a bit more powerful than the average 2008 hot hatch. That's not unlike the latest Subaru Impreza STi, which brings its own massive legend hewn over years of WRC domination and thrusts it into the hot hatch world.

And the BMW 135i itself isn't a hatchback per se, but it's based on one. And it's rear driven, too ? were hot hatches not always front-wheel driven?

But how good are these newcomers, really?

The Audi S3 has already been around for a year or so and our long-termer was in its last month when we finally convinced Subaru to give us a new five-door STi Version 10 to sample. And BMW let us have a 135i. So here they are: the first ever gathering of what we've decided to call 'the superlightweights' ? hot hatches that have outgrown their genre...

Sumptuously equipped, S3 has all the bells and whistles and then some. And, as it will transpire, this thing's a bloody bargain, too. Looks wise, the S3 is typically Audi ? a little bland.

But it certainly isn't ugly like the BMW, a car with a Mickey-Mouse front end that looks as if someone just slapped it for no reason, and an that arse that looks like an anorexic wearing too-large jeans with baggy back pockets. The rest of the little coupe, however, is quite pleasing to behold, while the pleasant interior is appropriately Spartan and plain for a stripped-out performer.

There must be something about that 1-Series styling though ? Subaru seems to care little that its new hatchback is pretty much a copycat One. OK, the STi addenda sets it much further apart from both its siblings and the BMW, with those '70s touring car racer power bulges making it very clear that this thing means business. Inside the STi is quite advanced by Subaru cockpit standards, albeit not quite up to these Europeans it now takes the fight to for the first time. Still it's exciting in there with cool Recaros and quite a neat spec level ? not to mention those mouth-watering Playstation-like chassis adjustment controls that prepare you for the coming ride like little else can.

So here we have a most interesting tussle between three new pretenders to a brilliant new motoring crown. Quite honestly though, the STi has one huge disadvantage ? how can Subaru possibly expect it to command a hundred grand premium over the likes of an Audi and a BMW like this?

Surely if it's done that, this thing needs to deliver performance more in tune with a V8 M3 or an RS4, than an S3 or 135i. For that reason alone, the Impreza starts this 100m dash halfway back round toward the 200m starting point. Can it possibly fight back?

Getting under the skin, the S3 boasts a 188kW version of the award-winning turbo direct-injection GTI motor and quattro all-wheel drive, and the S3's Hot Lap will attest, this car is a winner in pure performance.

The BMW, however, brings the biggest hammer to this contest: that brilliant 225kW double overall engine of the year winning 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six may not be the most specifically powerful engine here, but, as they say, there's simply no replacement for displacement. The most powerful engine of the three, it's also quite under-stressed and makes for an awesome and giant killing ride.

The 221kW Subaru sits between the Audi and the BMW in power terms, but it has the most torque here by a few Newton metres. The classic Subaru boxer is also famously indestructible, but doesn't quite impress us as much in 2.5-litre trim as it did when it made the same poke as a 2.0-litre. Still, it's now less stressed and more tractable ? and on the road, that?s a winner...

In pure performance, the BMW is quick in a straight line once it gets moving. The Audi gets off the line quicker but the Suby drills them both. But when that big six gets busy, it comes back and gets 'em. The Impreza is a little lost in tractability as it battles lag, but quite surprisingly, the Audi even trumps the BMW in overtaking ? seems a little more boost and a little less capacity helps when you floor it on the high altitude freeway.

> On page 2: a race around Kyalami decides the winner