There was a time when a leather interior was the ultimate expression of automotive luxury. Well, you can forget about that. The leather exterior has arrived!

A wealthy Ferrari owner based on the French Riviera has paid to have the bodywork of his €170,000 Ferrari F430 entirely wrapped in leather.

This amazing customisation job was performed by specialist car modifiers Dartz.

The Latvian company has a history of producing cars covered in exotic materials having once created a €1.3 million bullet-proof SUV with seats upholstered in whale foreskin. We think the leather-wrapped Ferrari is a more appealing prospect.

The leather covering took the Dartz team 16 days to complete and the anonymous customer was delighted when he picked his car up.

Dartz will not reveal what the leather covering cost but you can be certain it wasn't cheap. The firm's owner, Leonard Yankelovich, was at pains to point out that it's real leather on the Ferrari and not some cheap imitation vinyl.

The Ferrari 430 is a mid-engined supercar and the forerunner of today's Ferrari 458 Italia. It was produced between 2004 and 2009.

Power comes from a 4.3-litre V8 with 483hp and can hit a top speed of 196mph in standard form but we're not sure what that leather will do to the kerb weight or the aerodynamics.

The idea of a leather-bound car might well appeal but what about the practicalities? How is it going to cope with the inevitable stone chips and scratches? What happens if it rains? It's definitely one you'd want to garage overnight.

Whatever the ownership experience is like, the driver of this amazing car is guaranteed to make a big entrance and that is probably the whole point. You could say that when you're driving a leather-bound Ferrari, there's nowhere to hide.