Writing anything about the latest accessory for supercar buyers is a dangerous business, firstly because normal folk tend to get a bit envious when confronted with the fripperies richer folk spend their money on, and secondly because some of those fripperies tend to be so far off the scale of real-life they are borderline insulting.

One such example was unveiled at the recent Geneva motor show, and I have a nagging sensation of guilt because I actually quite like it. If you’re particularly keen-eyed, you may have spotted them on the McLaren 720S and Lamborghini Huracán Performante - although I’ll concede that both had other arresting qualities that mean this one may have passed you by.

Where tyres were once simply black and round, you’ll notice that they are now emblazoned with a coloured stripe and the maker’s name. That the maker is Pirelli - with whom McLaren and Lamborghini have an affiliation - should perhaps come as no surprise given their Formula 1 involvement and the similarity of the treatment between the sporting and road car tyres.

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Creating road tyres that could hold a coloured pattern on the sidewall was no easy task, however. Where it’s acceptable for an F1 tyre to degrade even over the short distance it is used, road car owners expect more, even though the tyre has a longer and in some ways harder life given that it spends days outside exposed to UV light, dust and dirt and being bumped off kerbs.

Unlike in F1, though, the colours don’t indicate any changes to the tyre compounds, merely the tastes of the buyer. Standard colours are yellow, red, silver and white, but if anyone wants to break free of those constraints, there’s the extra cost option of more than 3000 colour matches. Prices depend on tyre size and car type, but at the top end you’re looking at €5000 for a set of P Zeros.

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