Fiat is marking the 60th anniversary of one of the world’s most iconic little cars by releasing a special edition of the 500 called the Anniversario.

It is priced from £14,265 and is the latest in a series of limited edition models including the 500C by Gucci, the 500 by Diesel and the recent 500 Riva, a car which was dubbed the smallest yacht in the world.

The latest Fiat 500 Anniversario is on offer in both hatch and cabrio body styles with the open top version priced from £16,865.

The cars are finished in Riviera Green or Sicilia Orange, and are a tribute to the 1957 Italian-made icon with a modern slant on some of the features that made it famous in the Dolce Vita years.

The Anniversario is powered by Fiat’s 1.2-litre 69bhp petrol engine which delivers combined fuel efficiency up to 60.1mpg with a carbon emissions figure of 110g/km. When purchased with a Dualogic semi-auto gearbox, the emissions fall to 105g/km and fuel economy rises to 62.8mpg.

There is a definite sixties styling to the car with the likes of vintage Fiat logos, chrome accents on the bonnet and door mirror caps and 16-inch vintage alloy wheels (alternative 16-inch diamond finish alloys are available at no extra cost). The icing on the cake is the cursive “Anniversario” logo sported on the boot.

Move inside and it’s like stepping back in time with horizontal striped fabric, contrast piping in body colour and an embroidered 500 logo, while the body-coloured dashboard and special Anniversario embroidered floor mats complete the look.

Standard features on the Anniversario include cruise control, automatic climate control and rear parking sensors while a Tech Pack, which includes a seven-inch TFT instrument panel, a Uconnect seven-inch display, sat nav and connectivity compatible with Apple Car Play and Android Auto, is an option.

The original Fiat 500 made its debut on July 4, 1957 in Fiat’s home city of Turin and went on to become one of the great cars of the Swinging Sixties.

The ‘new’ 500 first made an appearance half a century later in 2007 and the car has gone on to set another milestone for the brand with more than two million sold globally.