Car of the century

1. Gave the miniskirt its name.

2. Started life as a doodle on a cigarette packet by the original designer, Sir Alec Issigonis.

3. First British car to win the Rally

Championship in 1965.

4. Since production began in 1959, 5.3m have been built.

5. James Weatherley was jailed for 5 years for stealing red Minis.

6. Celebrity owners of minis included King Hussein of Jordan, all The Beatles, Princess Michael, Steve McQueen and Cliff Richard.

7. Peter Sellers had a Mini with canework body panels

8. The car was originally launched under two names: Austin Seven and the Mini Minor.

9. Starred with Michael Caine in The Italian Job.

10. Voted the Car of the Century in 1996 by Autocar