Wheely colourful tyres from Continental
FORGET about boot spoilers, wings and wide wheels if you want your car to be noticed - get Continental's Personalityres instead.
While other makers have experimented with coloured rubber, Continental is the first to go for the full monty and pattern the whole tyre.
The look has been made possible by using silica instead of carbon black in the compound. Because this is colourless, designers can let their imaginations run wild. So instead of merely dying the rubber black, or even red or green, Continental has come up with a range of bright patterns. These range from the rugged Apocalypse camouflage tyre for off-road vehicles to the patriotic Bulldog Union Jack or leopardskin-effect Savannah. Each design is only a concept, but as the technology is in use it won't be too long until production versions hit the market.