Talking about the Porsche, its Active Suspension Management gives the choice between a Normal set-up or a particularly dynamic Sports mode, while 911 Turbo's six-piston calliper 350mm front brakes are carried over from Carrera GT and four-piston callipers on 350mm discs do duty at the rear linked to a pre-loading brake system and Brake Assistant to even further shorten stopping distances. The Turbo is also lighter than its predecessor and our test unit was fitted with Porsche's incredible Ceramic Composite Brakes.

Our Ferrari test unit also boasted optional ceramic brakes that not only look brilliant clamped by those giant Brembo callipers but also add a whack of retardation to an already impressive braking performance. F430 suspension is courtesy of double wishbones with performance dampers, coil springs and anti-roll bars front and back.

The Lamborghini's on-the-dime stopping power comes courtesy of eight-pot Brembo callipers up front and massive 335mm rear discs. Gallardo features an aluminum and thermoplastic body over its alley spaceframe, while double wishbones with anti-roll bar front and rear suspension, coupled to anti-dive and anti-squat functions keep the Lambo's four corners planted firmly on the ground.

Styling wise, the Porsche features yet another spin on that old Turbo theme and includes aspects that the press pack calls 'chiselled e air scoops with LED indicators and fog lamps, wider wheel arches, tailpipes moved upward and re-designed side intakes.' And 'the wing moves out at 120km/h and retracts at 80, its under floor is covered for ideal lift and a low 0.31 CD drag coefficient.' Really?

Porsche as always, has stuck to its mildly evolutionary track with the Turbo — I reckon that's a German thing — chipping away on that old block. Its Italian pals though, really get the pulse pumping from first sight thanks to their wildly revolutionary styling.

Wildly revolutionary styling

The Ferrari is delightful from any angle — that double-snorkel grille lifted from the '61 206 sportscar combines with a splendid set of lines and curves to present perhaps the most dramatic looking car on the road.

The Lamborghini too, takes no prisoners when it comes to styling. More angular and squared-off than either of its rivals, it certainly looks the part, but I cannot but help see a little Audi in it. And even a bit of Beetle. But the Gallardo is a brilliant piece of contemporary architecture nonetheless — it's a showstopper of note that will get you fully noticed in any neighbourhood.

Climbing inside, the 911 Turbo boasts an easily adjustable, comfortable and purposeful driving position in its leather-clad cockpit that incorporates Porsche's Communication Management with DVD navigation module, 13-speakers seven-channel digital amplifier BOSE Surround Sound System that's upgradeable to a telephone module and an electronic logbook, anti-dazzle mirrors and radar security sensors system.

All interiors

Open the Ferrari's door and you're initially struck by the yellow-on-black leather, but once inside the immediate reaction is how comfortable and user friendly this Ferrari is. I was quickly at home, in my preferred driving position thanks to a widely adjustable seat and steering. No more 'Italian monkey' driving style here. And that 'manettino' switch on the steering brings a bit of F1 tech that allows you to select one of five driving modes like Schumacher does in his F1 Ferrari — real F1 stuff that helps you remember that this is a Ferrari...

The Gallardo on the other hand is a bit more subdued and makes use of black suede and tasteful leather with just a hint of aluminium and yellow stitching. Lamborghini also feel the need to remind one that you are in such a car and stick a neat badge in front of the passenger. Interestingly, the interior of the Lamborghini is another place where you notice a link to Audi — not only does it get an Audi satellite system, but it also boasts that extraordinary fine finishing and attention to detail accustomed to the German giant...

The Porsche is a rather circumspect car to drive — it is quiet and efficient on start up and idle, where the F430 and the Lamborghini bark into life. Both Latinos offer a rather different mechanical din and explode off idle — the Ferrari wails and the Lambo grunts defined by the wonderful tones of their respective free-revving V8 and V10 mills.

Put your foot on the brake and pull the + lever back in the Italians, or select D or M in the Hun and you're in business...

The Porsche remains all calm until you floor it — it takes a second or two to respond and then whoosh! It's as though you've been sucked up by a tornado as your world becomes bizarre at an instant, your brain is stuffed back into your cranium and the thing warps forward like Skywalker or Vader's pod as it seems to search for traction among its four driven wheels, the front lightening up. It's ridiculous, actually, the Porsche — when it's running hard...

Lurgy of launch failure

Alas, despite Porsche's claims that the Tiptronic is faster than the manual, we're prepared to bet otherwise in Johannesburg. Yes, that old lurgy of launch failure — that conundrum turbocharged automatic cars suffer at air-depleted high altitude when running on the crap for petrol we are forced to on the Reef, applies as much to the Porsche 911 Turbo as it does to a common garden turbodiesel...

See, when you floor it, Turbo takes a good second — sometimes even more — to figure out that it needs boost and the right gear, and while it is busy getting all that info together, the car accelerates 'slowly' away. Then it gets it together and in an instant you're into that tornado of ludicrous speed and acceleration. Were the car able to blast away from the line without that gap, we're certain that the Turbo would easily have given us our first ever sub-four second 0-100 run, Instead it was barely quicker than an M5 and it lost out to both its aspirated rivals here...

The same goes for overtaking acceleration — the figures look great, but what if I tell you that if we first floor it and then monitor the time once the car gets itself together, it would run 80 to 120 in a simply staggering 2.4 seconds rather than two seconds slower? And that the 120 to 160 figure was a second and a half off for the same reason?

Which is all quite a pity. Turbo stormed to a quarter-mile terminal speed of 199km/h — our fastest ever by far — to clearly indicate what could have been. The Turbo's launch failure problem isn't dangerous or anything like that in some other cars, as it gets going quite well any way, but its just such a pity this all ruins its performance times. So we wait patiently to test the manual - it will reset our record books well and good, no matter what Porsche says about it being slower than the auto — this is Jo'burg, things are very different here...

Awesome to drive

Although the Ferrari suffers from normal altitude sickness, it is awesome to drive in every respect. Its F1 'box de-clutches easily and it pulls away smoothly - the Ferrari system is now as sophisticated as BMW's SMG, which once enjoyed an advantage in the robotized gearbox world, it shifts seamlessly and clutch action integrates well with your driving. The only drawback I found is that the robot gear paddles are fixed to the steering column rather than the wheel itself, I prefer them to be on the wheel, but that's also just my preference...

The most noticeable thing about F430 though, is its now complete power band — oodles of grunt from right down at the bottom replaces the finicky manner of this car's predecessor. Ferrari has built a supercar that doubles as an everyday runabout — if it's ever so required — at last. And you can dial your driving preference right now into the manettino to tune F430 to exactly what you want from it, but whatever you do, this Ferrari adapts to what you want. Ferrari seems to have achieved what Porsche always has — building a hybrid supercar that's as refined and all-rounded as a BMW or a Merc in every other way, too.

The Lambo is quite similar to the Ferrari in many respects, although its AWD baggage does steal quite a bit of dynamic polish from it. Like the Ferrari, Gallardo's soundtrack is awesome, awe inspiring — and something the whirlwind Porsche certainly misses out on, as much as it does the Italians' testosterone-inspired looks.

Our performance figures saw the Ferrari benefiting the Porsche's response conundrum to turn in the quickest 0-100 in just over 4.6 seconds, with the Lambo equalling the suffering Turbo a tenth tardier. Overtaking acceleration saw all three pretty evenly matched thanks to that hole in the Turbo's response. But from there, the Porsche is the performance king it should have been in every corner of its performance envelope.

Yes, we test at altitude in Gauteng and as it always does, a Reef test will bring aspects in cars out that are not apparent anywhere else where cars are tested. And considering that 70 percent of the population and even more of our readers live and drive at altitude in SA, that more than likely makes quite a difference to your frame of reference...

And the winner is...

So, armed with the data on how these cars run in our back yard, our test results and our verdict may well be quite a bit different to what you (and we) expected. And it's the Ferrari that wins this shootout quite comfortably. Not only is it the best looking and most evocative car here, but it's also the best handling and most expensive. And thanks to the quirks of testing on the Highveld, it's right in the ballpark when it comes to performance, too.

The diabolically fast Porsche sadly suffers problems in delivering its evil performance at altitude. If this were a coastal test — or if we were considering manual geared cars, that unblemished performance would probably have easily won it this test, but sadly we live and drive at altitude and the Turbo doesn't work properly here in Tiptronic guise. So the Porsche finishes second.

That it beats Gallardo to third is evidence enough of how good the Porsche really is, but the Lambo cannot quite match the agility, the poise or the pedigree of the Ferrari. And it's that Lamborghini pedigree that Audi is slowly dissolving that is hurting the raging bull the most, which is a great pity — the Gallardo certainly deserves more.

So, there we have it — Gauteng altitudes and poor petrol have once again played a part in delivering yet another against the odds Cars in Action road test verdict. But that won't ever stop little boys, big men and mega moguls alike from chasing these dream catchers until one day they have caught one — or all of them.

These are the cars of dreams and we will always aspire to them far more than we ever will any others...