The biggest stand at the Johannesburg International Motor Show, on now at Nasrec, is that of Mercedes-Benz, which claims to be 'the inventor of the automobile' through its connection with Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz, and is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.
But don't look for museum exhibits and history lessons at Nasrec, as the Mercedes-Benz SA outlook is forward, not towards the past - and the undoubted performance star of the show is the SLS AMG Roadster, a big brute of a two- seater rated at a formidable 420kW at 6800rpm, that will accelerate from 0-100km/h in a claimed 3.8 seconds and reaching an (electronically limited) top speed of 317 km/h.
The Joburg motor show is the first public viewing of this exciting V8 powerhouse.
Also making its African debut is the Concept A-Class, no longer a boxy little MPV but a slinky compact crossover with a new, turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, dual-clutch transmission and a radar-based collision warning system with adaptive brake assist.
There's a little (recent) history in the form of one of the B-Class F-CELL models used in the recent World Drive Tour which demonstrated that (as long as you can get hydrogen!) fuel-cell technology is as reliable and versatile as the internal combustion engine.
And right at the other end of the scale there's the Smart micro hybrid drive minicar and the Smart e-bike, a battery-assisted bicycle for inner-city mobility.