Few cars have crossed the boundaries between motoring, fashion and popular culture as successfully as the Mini.

By the late 1990s, its place as a British design icon was firmly established, making a collaboration with English fashion designer, Paul Smith a particularly appropriate partnership.

Both were internationally recognised British names, combining practical thinking with an individual sense of style, and the resulting limited edition brought a fresh interpretation to the familiar Mini shape. Introduced in 1998, the Paul Smith edition was limited to 1,800 examples worldwide, with just 300 allocated to the UK.

Its significance extended beyond the addition of a designer’s signature.

Smith’s involvement gave the car a carefully considered identity, using distinctive colours, materials and small, unexpected details to create something recognisably different whilst retaining the simplicity and character that had made the Mini so enduring. UK examples were finished in exclusive Pau...