Triumph Motorcycles 3 Inch Skull Crossbones Patch on 2040-parts.com

The Mini is 50 years old today

  Today - 08/05/2009 - is the 50th anniversary of the first Mini rolling off the production line. To celebrate, and for a bit of free publicity (see, we’re playing the game) BMW has shipped the first Mini to roll of the production line back to Cowley to celebrate (picture at the bottom). 621 AOK, a Mini Minor, in Old English White, looks as fresh as the day it rolled off the production line half a century ago (although I wouldn’t mind betting it doesn’t have it’s original sills – they always rusted through – or copes with its original distributor and leads – one splash of rain and the car ground to a halt!).

One Lap of the Web: Elon Musk's Hyperloop, Greenwich Concours and a Model T

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. The 2013 Porsche Rennsport Australia went off over Memorial Day weekend at Sydney Motorsports Park and motorsportretro.com has full gallery of pictures.

Dacia Sandero: Looks just like a £33k car!

With Renault’s budget Dacia Sandero now hitting UK showrooms, one dealership has been asking shoppers to estimate how much a Sandero will cost. We’ve all been surprised with the reaction in the UK to the new Dacia range’s arrival in UK showrooms, and not just the price. Renault’s budget range is managing to offer properly credible new cars at prices that are almost a no-brainer, especially if value ranks higher on your wish-list than image or toys.