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ITALIAN JOB

talian Job Fun Facts

Here are a few MINI fun facts from The Italian Job, released in 2003.

 

Two electric-powered Mini Coopers, and one Mini Cooper S had to be specially built for the film, since gasoline-powered vehicles are not allowed to operate in L.A.’s subway system.

The red Mini Cooper driven by Stella at the beginning of the film is a nod to the Mini Coopers from the original The Italian Job (1969). It is a vastly different model to the one featured in the original, though, being a late Rover-produced model made in the late-’90s, not an Austin Mini Cooper Mk1 as was used in the original film.

32 Minis were used throughout the shooting.

A MINI with two steering wheels was used for some of the shooting in order that a stunt driver could drive the car whilst one of the actors performed in front of the camera. This unusual car is now a part of the MINI factory tour in Cowley, Oxford.

Kings Island (Cincinnati, OH) and Canada’s Wonderland (Toronto, ON) opened The Italian Job: Stunt Track attraction in May 2005. Kings Dominion (Doswell, VA) added the ride in summer 2006. The ride is based on the chase sequence of the 2003 film. The ride is a heavily themed roller coaster, in which the coaster trains are scaled MINI Cooper S Convertible models.

The White MINI was custom painted into a ‘Pepper White’ MINI with a pure white roof – this is not a color combination that is made for the MINI. The ‘Chili Red’ and ‘Indy Blue’ MINI’s both have custom black door mirrors and white roofs. In reality, MINI’s come with door mirrors that match the body color, or mirrors can be ordered to match the roof color.