Better equipped than many cars twice its size, the FIAT 500 - soon nicknamed 'Topolino' (mouse) - brought a degree of refinement hitherto unknown to small cars when launched in 1936.

Lockheed hydraulic brakes, independent front suspension and 12-volt electrics were all features, while an engine mounted ahead of the front axle helped maximise cabin space.

The 569cc, four-cylinder, sidevalve motor produced a modest 13bhp, but as the Topolino weighed little more than half a ton it could nevertheless manage a respectable 50mph-plus under favourable conditions.

For most buyers though, the frugal, up-to-50mpg fuel consumption would have been the major attraction.

Introduced in 1946, the 500B featured a more powerful (16.5bhp) overhead-valve engine that would be carried over to the Topolino 's final incarnation - the re-styled 500C of 1949, the first FIAT model to offer a heating/de-misting system as standard.

Equipped with the superior overhead-valve engine, these later Topolinos were g...