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What $122,000 in psychedelic colors can do for a McLaren MP4-12C

If there's any critique that can stick with the McLaren MP4-12C supercar, it's the idea of being a bit conservative as 616-hp, $259,000 rocketships go. For those who enjoy fixing their cars after they buy them, German tuner Hamann Motorsports has a solution to the attention deficit disorder faced by McLaren owners in the valet stand-off with Ferraris and Lamborghinis: a swirling coat of multicolors along with other body upgrades to create the Hamann memoR. The price? $122,000.

It's hard to top the release from Hamann itself: "Grass-green Porsches, neon yellow Lamborghinis and even luminous red Ferraris will soon fade away into the background on most streets...With the stage set like this, the refined two-seater will transform ugly streets into palatial catwalks, clothing its passengers in magnificent haute couture."

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If you say so, chief.

Given the, um, uniqueness of the fashions presented here, and in the absence of information from Hamann about its construction, it's safe to assume this is a wrapper over a base-colored McLaren rather than some kind of hand-crafted artwork. That $122,000 price tag includes several other modifications -- new wheels, interior fabrics, carbon-fiber wing and hood, and other pieces meant to increase the top speed of the already slippery MP4-12c. Even the mudflaps are carbon fiber.

As with most haute couture, the trouble with buying something this expensive and outlandish lies in wagering how many other slightly crazy wealthy drivers will want the same thing. I'd say if you're going to drive an art car, make the art as high performance as the vehicle -- not just something off the rack.