New special edition MINI

If the credit crunch is biting, but you really must have a new MINI on your driveway then the company is offering a solution. The Graphite special edition is a value-laden package from MINI, being offered on One, Cooper and Cooper D models.

Featuring Dark Silver metallic paint, black bonnet stripes, white indicator lens, a piano black interior and 15-inch alloy wheels the MINI One Graphite costs from £13,075 or just £210 a month with a £2,000 deposit through MINI Select Finance. The Cooper model is priced at £14,590 and the Cooper D £15,600; they gain larger alloy wheels and the choice of white or black bonnet stripes.

The special edition models might only represent a saving of around £300 over a regular car featuring the same specification, but industry experts Glass's has confirmed that it'll be worth as much as 3 percent more should you ever be parted from it - MINI special editions performing better than standard models for residual values.

On sale now, you'll need to be quick if you want to get into a Graphite before MINI's 'MINI United' event at Silverstone on the 22-24 May, the festival attracting MINI fans from around the globe and entertaining them with acts like Paul Weller and Calvin Harris.

Kyle Fortune