Video : MINI Unveils ‘The Britalian Job’

MINI has released a short London 2012-themed film, paying homage to the 1969 classic, the Italian Job. The film, created to celebrate MINI’s partnership with Team GB and ParalympicsGB, features a host of stars, including sporting legends Daley Thompson, James Cracknell, Jonathan Edwards and Matthew Pinsent, as they attempt to track down the perpetrator of a fictional night-time heist – racing-driver, model and car fan, Jodie Kidd.

Directed by Phil Churchward, the lead director on BBC’s Top Gear and using key members of the show’s production team, the action-packed film includes stunts performed in red, white and blue London 2012 special edition MINIs, against the backdrop of some of the capital’s most iconic landmarks including the Houses of Parliament and Knightsbridge.

The film features several references to the original movie, including MINIs emerging from the same Park Lane basement as used in the 1969 classic, traversing down the Duke of York Steps off the Mall, and a chase through London’s Leadenhall market. Double Olympic gold medallist, Daley Thompson, who masterminds the chase said: ‘It’s been a great experience being involved in The Britalian Job – everyone in the cast became completely immersed in their roles and with seven Olympic Gold medals between us, we were obviously the right team for the job!’

The film climaxes in one final dramatic stunt in which the three MINIs perform a ten metre jump in close formation in front of the Olympic Stadium, as their pursuit of the biker reaches its peak.

Graham Biggs, Corporate Communications Director at BMW Group UK, added: ‘The Italian Job is a classic and this was a great opportunity and the right time to have some fun with it in London. We wanted to make an exciting short film featuring British sporting heroes and three MINIs as the stars, in and around some of London’s greatest landmarks, as the city prepares for The Games. We hope everybody enjoys it.’

James Cracknell, British rowing champion and double Olympic gold medallist, said: ‘It was great fun making this film and London makes such a brilliant setting for an action sequence like this. Seeing London begin its transformation for the summer Games and feeling the excitement building is tremendous. Everybody involved with this film wishes Team GB and ParalympicsGB the best of luck as the Games approach.’

  • If you’re a MINI fan, and you want to try to find one for yourself, you can visit the motors.co.uk website, which has lots of different car models for you to look through. Visit the website to find out more information.

 

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuQZtqNNrZU[/tube]

Keith Adams

27 Comments

  1. Good video. Great stunt driving.

    (Shame about the continuity error with the red car’s grille)

  2. I was sceptical about the Bini – but now my wife has one and I have driven it alot – forget the politics – these are really good cars – and yes I was converted to them by acutaully driving one. Now to the film… I am a fan of the original 1969 Italian job but NOT the remake from a few years ago. I do like this version though. Very much! I hope all other AROnline readers enjoyed it too.

  3. Like I say – Having driven one for a good few thousand miles,also at the same time being the proud owner of an Abingdon built MG (and previously a Solihull built TR7) I can say from experience, these ARE good cars. Not all Bini owners fit the stereotype that I have seen portrayed recently on this website

  4. Keith himself has a Mini these days.

    That continuity error – maybe a homage to the numerous errors in the original? (Such as different spotlights in the sewer, a Lancia getting pushed off the cliff, the chrome trim on one of the Minis hanging off as it gets on the bus, then being in place the next scene etc)

  5. MG Midget – Well said. I am fed up with the way posters on this website seem to think everyone (except themselves of course) fits one negative stereotype or another.

  6. Most people who criticise the MINI have never sat in one, let alone driven one. I have had my R56 Cooper D hatch for nearly 5 years now and I still love it. I hope to change it for a Cooper SD early next year.

    I love the old AR and BL tin too but the MINI is a great fun everyday car which puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. The naysayers should try one before they knock it.

  7. @ 9 & 10 Thank you Rickerby and Jon.

    I have seen some quite awful comments aimed at the Bini and – more worryingly, the owners and drivers of them – sadly on this website.

    Apparantly we are chavs with varying shades of fake tans – so does that comment extend to my wife and I?

    These comments are totally untrue of course and whilst I strongly feel everyone has the right to their opinion, and not everyone may agree with that opinion, if these opinions we see were based more on facts and actual informed experiences rather than simply prejudice, they would have more credibility and their future opinions and comments would be valued more.

    I dont like the hype and mega marketing BMW surround the Mini range with, but as it is, it is the naysayers that loose out – because as you say Jon, Binis in my experience are truly great cars that are fun to drive – eat long distances and put a smile on your face, and given we currently have a MG Midget (possibly the original ‘fun’ car – now thats a debate in itself) and have owned true 2 seater sports cars and ‘hot hatches’ in the past, we speak with experience – ours is a Cooper SD – well recommended Jon – hope you enjoy yours when you get it.

    And before anyone accuses me of a sense of humour failure – I do have a sense of humour – and some of the comments I see on here do make me smile, but in some of the cases perhaps for reasons different to how their authors intended them.

    Finally worth noting – our third car is a Polo. No other Polo driver waves at us when one comes past us when we are in that – unlike when we are in the Bini and the MG. Perhaps there is something in that.

  8. Ok, I am one of the ‘Bini bashers’ that the above commentators have alluded to. I do think that some of the above have taken umbrage to some generally ‘tongue in cheek’ comments. And at the risk of appearing overly defensive, I’ve never labelled all Bini drivers as having fake tans, etc, although it is fair to say that many do appear to fall into that stereotype.

    This is a car fan site- and by its very nature will be full of opinions, ‘Why I love the…’ and ‘Why the XXXXXX is the worst car in the world’. And so, some of the comments are inevitably going to poke fun at the cars, and some of the stereotypical driver of them. It should be taken as a given that all comments will not apply to all drivers- does that really need to be spelled out every time a light-hearted comment is made in reference to a particular car?

    Bini drivers, almost by definition, are hardly some disenfranchised minority- Binis are an expensive boutique product, and therefore their owners are a priveliged group of people who buy Binis as a ‘lifestyle statement’- its hardly a ‘default purchase’ in the way that a clapped-out Escort might be for those on a very restricted income (I speak as a clapped-out Escort owner- and no, I’m not jealous of your Binis)…

    I don’t want to pursue this topic ad infinitum, and indeed I had already decided not to post any more ‘why I hate the Bini’ comments (that’s got old already, and there is no point in my repeating myself), but I couldn’t resist a comment about the sewers (in reference to the original Italian Job where the cars did drive through the sewers), and if my Bini-bashing comments have genuinely offended anyone, then I apologise- my aim was to ‘tease’ rather than to offend.

  9. @12 Chris Baglin
    Thank you for your candid apology. Your previous comments were offensive and yours (and others) persual of these stereo types continue to be offensive.

    As you rightly say this is a car fan site so lets stick to the cars.

    Have you driven a Bini for any length of time?

    If you are unable to say you have any real experience of these cars then why do you think those that do should be derided?

    This is an AustinRover web site and I have had my fair share of AustinRover products in my 21 year motoring history, and after 9000 miles in our 61 plate Bini which we own (as in paid for with cash and no monthly payments) I have put my money where my mouth is and speak with experience.

    I also carry out all the restoration / maintenance work on our Midget and Polo myself and have done so since I learned to drive (yes the Bini is maintained by the dealer to preserve its warranty and I am not an electrician or computer expert so its best off their hands) I am therefore no stranger to Mig welders, carburettor rebuilds oil changes etc etc. Does that fit in with your idea of us?

    To be mocked (constantly) is starting to get quite annoying, and detracts from my enjoyment of this website, especially when the individuals doing the mocking do not appear to have any experience of what they are mocking. My wife chose her Bini not as a boutique product or lifestyle statement, but because she wanted a quick, reliable, well handling car to cover long distances in comfortably and economically, and did not want a big car. The Bini Cooper SD does all this extremely well and has the added bonus of being great fun too and always makes us smile.

    Even if someone does not agree with my view point – I always respect the opinion of anyone who has knowledge of the subject they are discussing and can argue their point in a coherant manner, so Chris, I am glad you have chosen to stop the personal snipes and digs at individuals who choose to drive a car that differs from your own, or what you aspire to, and I hope one day you will be able to own and experience a car that does all you want from it, that you truly enjoy and I hope that others will allow you to do so without constantly, in your words (not mine Chris), ‘tease’.

  10. I haven’t got a problem with the Bini, although a family relative of mine absolutely swears at ’em when he services the Mk1. The Mk2 is much better built and easier to service apparently.

    It just seemed a bit too cheesy though, that’s all.

  11. @ MG Midget

    You have taken Chris’s comments too personally – I might even suggest he touched a nerve. You accept his apology then further stick the boot in. Grow up and show some dignity and humility.You are not the only one who has restored old cars or are useful with tools, even if you were it does not put you on a higher plain than Chris or anyone else.

    A lot of animosity toward the MINI started from the classic Mini brigade & MGR devotees. I won’t go into length as to why as it has been well documented elsewhere, but the new car is now so far removed from the old one it isn’t worth bothering about any more. The ‘classic’ owners have now more or less made their peace with BMW so they exist side by side within their own demographic. The new Mini will never exist within the same demographic as the classic, and a fair chunk of the current generation of MINI owners will probably not have had a driving licence when the old one finished its production run, and thereby never driven one.

    It seems MINI owners are delighted with their cars, which is great. They will keep buying them and that will keep work at Cowley. I personally will never buy one as they are too expensive even second hand and, like the parent company vehicles, are getting premium prices for a fairly average product.

    As they say “bull***t marketing works” and well done to them for its success

  12. @ Paul T
    I am sorry you feel that way – but can I ask you – how long have I sat in silence while Chris and his pals have mocked and detracted from my enjoyment of this site? The first time I make a reasoned argument – backed up with real life experience – I am the one who gets told told to grow up!

    I am making the point that not all of us have fake tans (Cuprinol, Orange,Chav and can you believe this ‘Hitler Youth Beige’) are all terms used on this site to describe me and my fellow Bini drivers – by people with no experience of what or who they are mocking. I am not the only one who is massively upset by this tosh – and I am not the one who made these hugely offensive comments.

    You may note I have not stooped to making personal comments about others, and did you read my final paragraph in comment 14? I do wish Chris well, and I hope he is not sniped at like I and other Bini drivers have been.

    I merely make the point that this is a site about cars. Let us stick to cars and their relative merits, and leave the personal comments out of it, as they simply serve to alienate.

  13. I bought a brand new MINI and think it’s a cracking little car. I also don’t give a monkey’s what anyone else thinks. i bought it because of its great dynamics, thorough engineering, and most importantly, it’s made in England.

    in fact, far from being an expensive boutique product, it came all in at £11k – which I think makes it the cheapest British car of all. MG, I wouldn’t let the Comments bug you, it’s a car fansite and people have their opinions.

    As long as your MINI makes you happy, why care what others think?

  14. @MGMidget,

    Oh dear God, please make it stop…

    I’ve always made it clear in my posts that I do not regard all Bini drivers as conforming to the stereotype, and have never, nor would ever, use a term like ‘Hitler Youth Beige’…

    I like drama. Clearly, you too, MGMidget, enjoy drama. The Sopranos is my favourite TV show of all time- I have all the DVDs. It is full of intrigue, double-dealing,low politics, and especially conspiracy. You seem to see some kind of conspiracy in the anti-Bini posts on the board, as evidenced by your comments re ‘Chris and his mates’. I’ve only been commenting on this site for a few weeks, and so I was unaquainted to those you evidently consider my fellow conspirators.I’ve have not yet established a cloak-and-dagger undercover organisation of hooded individuals meeting in dimly-lit basements conspiring to lay waste not only to the bastard Cowley-based automotive offspring of the former BMW-Rover group, but also to smear the reputation of all those that drive them. If I was so minded (and I am not despite what you appear to think) then I would surely let loose my shadowy ‘agent provocateurs’upon you…

    Given that I’ve been careful to indicate that not all Bini drivers conform to certain unfortunate stereotypes, and you appear to have indicated that you’ve read my threads, the decision to ‘take offence’ is one that you have voluntarily embraced. That is your choice. Paul T has read, and responded, to your comments (and thank you Paul) and come to a different conclusion to you. And, by the way, I’ve never conversed with him, so he is not in my ‘cabal’.

    How long have you ‘sat in silence’, as you say, given that I joined the site a few weeks ago?

    I’ve never claimed to have driven a Bini- and, if you’ve actually read my posts, you’ll know that I don’t have any issue with the way they drive (as reported by those that have).

    I made my post above as a way of hopefully stopping the whining and pouring oil on troubled waters. This is the internet, not your mother’s kitchen. Occasionally, you will hear opinions that will take you out of your comfort zone. Welcome to the world! I’m not offended by the prospect of people ‘sniping at me’, as I can deal with that in a rational manner, should it occur (not that I’ve actually sniped at you – this is a reply invited by you, yourself ); as I have a pair.

    Do you?

  15. @ 19 & 18

    I rest my case. Great cars – as those who are in the know can and have testified.

  16. As a long time classic Mini owner and enthusiast since 1974 (my first car and I still own one today) it was not until about 5 or 6 years ago that I actually got to drive a MINI (I hate the word Bini and don’t see the point in using it, most seem to use it in a negative sense). Loved the drive and handling so bought a 2002 MINI One secondhand as a dailly driver and it has been great ownership experience ever since……completely different to most other boring modern supermini’s, a credit to the many Rover Engineers involved in the original R50 design and development work and I’m sure the Mk1 R53 MCS is destined to be a future classic car.

    Lets hope the next generation Mk3 MINI is as good as the Mk1 & 2 and keeps the Cowley factory production line busy for years more to come.

  17. I owned two MINI’s over a period of over 6 years (R50 and sadly missed R53) and loved them, so am not anti MINI in any way when I say that this film is embarrassingly bad! Please, let’s forget it ever happened…..

  18. @ MG Midget @17

    Thank you for clarifying your comments. I had no desire to start a disagreement with you but did feel your comments were a bit more emotive than they needed to be which is why I said what I did.

    I know people who have owned and driven MINIs and like them, and have even said they have a similar feel to the old car terms of ‘point and go’ handling.

    I have no truck with anyone who indulges in xenophobic diatribes towards, for example, the Germans and Chinese although light-hearted banter does no harm, but when we start making things like WW2 references then it goes too far. (The Sun got clobbered for this by the PCC during Euro 96 when they indulged in their usual anti-German rhetoric prior to the England-Germany semi final.)

    Anyway I digress. I accept you may have been offended by Chris’ remarks and respect your right of reply. I have myself risen to baited posts in the past and not been particularly pleased with myself afterwards. I took a decision a while back to ignore anyone who made a thinly veiled personal attack, rather than dignify their comments with any form of response. I generally find it works. Continue to enjoy your cars (new and old) as I do (MG Midget and 3 Minis in various states of repair).

  19. @ Chris Baglin comment 19

    You’re welcome. There are people on here who DO go out to bait and offend people for the sport of it but I didn’t see you comments that way.

    I have read some quite nasty things said about the Germans and Chinese on other sites and forums which hint at more sinister undertones of the individual posters. Thankfully AROnline seems to have kept these types at arm’s length.

    Hopefully everyone can put this wee misunderstanding behind them and continue to enjoy the news, blogs – and most importantly some genuine good-humoured banter. Life’s too short.

  20. I own a classic Mini…The italian job is a movie about
    the classic Mini, not a new one, it is a shame that the MINI or the Bini (call it as you wish)still rides the glory of the Mini without adding nothing special to the legend. I am not discussing of the quality of the car (although the brasilian engines were not so reliable in my country) but I think that is impossible to remake The italian job and re and remaking always the same stunts with a red blue and white mini is a bit sad

  21. But why was the most british of olympians missing? I sepak of course of Eddie ‘The eagle’ Edwards…

  22. I’m of 2 minds about the MINI itself.. Its a great car on that I am decided.. however as a replacement for the original it fails dismally, it’s just far far to big. Its not really a mini, but somthing different, and seen as such its a very good car, thats my opinion, which may come out sounding like a hater

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