The pictures will appear in the magazine soon, giving the town national publicity in Britain's largest car buyers' guide.

The What Car? team were road testing the Fiat 500, a Mini and the Renault Twingo.

Group art director Steve Moore said: "Hopefully, we help Britain's public make the right buying decisions when they buy a new or used car.

"We're always looking for places with open space.

"It's amazing how much room you need to take a picture of a group of cars, a friendly town council and a good backdrop.

"The theme for these is cappuccino culture because the Fiat is an Italian car."

What Car? has already expressed an interest in returning to the town for future photo shoots.

Horsham District Council is keen to encourage more photo shoots in the area and is looking at creating a formal policy for the venture.

It also wants to make better use of the Forum, which represents a unique and modern space in the town.

Town centres manager Garry Mortimer-Cook said: "To my knowledge this is the first time we have allowed vehicles to come on here.

"That's because we have been very sensitive to the fact that the surface here wasn't designed to take vehicle traffic and therefore we have been trying to protect that.

"We're determined to make better use of this space for the benefit of Horsham really - it's a unique space.

"This reflects the modern side of Horsham if you like.

"We know how photogenic Horsham is and we do get many requests."