Let the moneyed take note, Mercedes Benz has launched its new range-topping SLS AMG supercar in South Africa, and what a halo car. A couple of hours spent driving the newcomer on road and track was more than sufficient proof of its abundant talent. A talent that runs far deeper than just its gullwing doors. (Even if they do boast trick exploding hinges – a creative regulation-appeasing device essential for an inverted crash-landing.)

You see, the SLS has a blend of intoxicating attributes. For one, it looks fantastic, though it could be argued that it lacks the drama of a Lambo or the outright beauty of an Aston. Plus it has huge reserves of instantly accessible power and it handles with all the balance of a trapeze artist. You can mostly thank the lightweight aluminium spaceframe and front mid-mounted, dry sump V8 for that. The motor’s a heavily reworked version of the AMG stalwart, good for 420kW and 650Nm, connected via ‘torque tube’ to a Getrag seven-speed dual clutch transmission at the rear. It’s a mechanical layout that gives the SLS AMG a 47:53 front/rear weight distribution and prodigious traction. This, allied to a seating position nigh on the rear axle, provides the pilot with a high speed broadband connection to the rear end for copious bursts of predictable drift. That’s provided you select ESP SPORT and make use of the S+ (Sport plus) setting of the four-mode AMG Drive Unit. Of course it’s possible to switch off the ESP altogether, but it’s best to then possess Rosberg skill levels as opposed to mere Schumacher.

Drive the SLS in C (Controlled efficiency) mode and it acts just like a regular auto, slushing gears together convincingly, but put it in M (Manual) and change speeds drop to less than 100ms, accompanied on track by a very slight jolt as the electronics prolong transmission life. But don’t let the jolt word alarm you, it’s far less intrusive than rival single-clutch automated manuals and only prevalent when you’re really pressing on.