IF you like to stand out from the crowd but appreciate the fun of driving then MINI has a special edition model that could be right up your street.

The Clubman Hampton SD has been introduced for the 12 months leading up to the London Olympics and is named after one of the capital's landmarks - Hampton Court.

And there has been plenty of planning behind this car's design which boasts stunning paintwork introduced specially for the Hampton model in reef blue metallic paint with flashes of damson on the door mirrors and snazzy bonnet stripes.

The 17-inch alloys have red centre caps and the wheels are black. Add in a twin exhaust, black roof and black rear door surrounds and I think it's clear that Mini wanted this model to be noticed.

The interior is equally as impressive with black leather seats edged in damson red piping, instrument faces in anthracite and a massive central speedo which is surrounded by a damson red ring and more smart pinstripes on the facia.

Controls such as the sat nav, audio, telephone and car settings are situated within this dial in an easy-to-operate system.

The Clubman Hampton boasts many other creature comforts too such as air con, a DAB radio, electric windows, sun protection glass and plenty more besides.

And it's actually fairly spacious for occupants. In theory, there are three rear seats, but two could travel in comfort with ample head, leg and elbow space.

Storage options are pretty impressive too with a fairly generously-sized boot accessed via the twin-doors tailgate and even an under-floor storage area.

This MINI certainly looks the part, but what about its performance? In and around town, it darts with ease between the busy traffic and out on the open road, the two-litre diesel engine provides ample power.

The six-speed manual transmission is also nice and responsive.

Cabin noise is not the quietest and you do feel the occasional road surface bump, but that aside a fun-packed ride.

And you must take into account the great economy this vehicle offers - it boasts combined fuel figures of 64.2mpg and carbon emissions of just 115g/km (that means free road tax for the first 12 months).

Safety features are plentiful and include anti-lock brakes, dynamic stability control, cornering brake control, numerous airbags and lots more.

Okay, the MINI Clubman Hampton is not cheap, but this is a special edition which cranks up the price and you can always expect to splash out for unique quality.