Due discretion

But it’s also a considerate car with faultless low-speed manners, a beautifully synchronised six-speed automatic (plus paddle shift for the enthusiast) and unobtrusive all-wheel drive. Taller drivers might find the small steering wheel cuts off the tops of the unappealingly deep-set fuel and temperature gauges (they must have struggled to get all the instruments within the radius of that wheel) and you pay for the raked screen in dashboard reflections. The W12 engine is surprisingly compact — shorter than some four cylinder units — but the lack of room makes it painful to work on. I can’t begin to imagine what it costs to replace those four Pirellis but if you need to ask, as they used to say of Crewe products, you can’t afford it. In case you can, it’s listed at £133,000 for the tyres plus all the other bits (with a space-saver spare thrown in).

If you want a supercar, this is probably the most usable one on the planet. Not many people will buy it, so it will do less harm to the planet than the half-million or so Fiat 500s that will doubtless (and deservedly) be sold. It’s also probably the best way of pretending you haven’t got a supercar when you have. But if you use it as your everyday car, which you could, what would you have as your special?