We know that there are now Italian Job Mini Sets in America, Denmark and around 20 individual Italian Job Minis in the UK. What really happened was that sometime around 2006, a canny keen-eyed film buff realized that the famous number plates from the Italian Job, HMP729G, LGW809G and GPF146G, were available for purchase from the DVLA’s jazzy new website. https://jalopnik.com/only-three-cars-from-the-italian-job-still-exist-1832323763 After bidding a cool £6,000 for bits and pieces of the cars in 2005 that fit into a mere box, 42-year-old Newcastle resident David Morton restored three cars to their exact film look and displayed them at the MiniFest in Staffordshire in 2011. Hi I was wondering if anyone could tell me the exact spec of the Mini Coopers used in the 2003 Italian Job film please. In various interviews Michael Caine has joked about the short-sightedness of BMC’s marketing department, who snubbed the production company’s request for help in procuring cars for filming. BMC Buckboard – The Army reject that became a style icon, The restoration of one of the oldest MX-5s around. https://www.smiths-instruments.co.uk/blog/mini-history-starring-in-the-italian-job Statistics for ROVER MINI ITALIAN JOB.. See how many cars of any make and model are left on Britain's roads. He lives with his wife, two rascally sons, and is a car and motorcycle nut in his free time. R21 Or The Italian Job remake. Since it’s always been illegal to make a car appear younger than it really is, these registrations could never have been assigned to a Mk1. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a true Italian Job survivor out there, somewhere. The first movie came out way back in 1969 and was more of a comic-caper than an action heist movie, and its iconic Mini Cooper chase scene where the protagonists escape the authorities by driving the Minis into sewer tunnels became a much-parodied scene that later even The Simpsons copied. His dream is to drive around the world; even if it takes more than eighty days. But perhaps the uncredited star of the movie remained the Mini Cooper, because, after the release of the movie, there was a spurt in sales of the MINI USA, up by 20%. In 1982 I used to go to Esher College, on the way back to Hersham (home) via the bottom of Sandown race track, there used to be a little set up of garages, I used to pass I saw a Fella washing a Red mini Cooper 'S', Spinning back round in my Morris MC 998 I had to get a closer look. Specs datasheet with technical data and performance data plus an analysis of the direct market competition of Mini Italian Job (man. In 2011 the Mail Online ran a story about how three of the original Italian Job minis, or what remained of them, had finally resurfaced from a lock up in the backstreets of Turin. A great car to invest in, but not a great car to own; The Mini Cooper. But then of course, the plates had their own little stories to tell: especially LGW809G, which referred to the gangs’ return flight number to Gatwick where the Italian Job 2 sequel was supposed to pick up the action. Read the full, true story of the Italian Job here: Darryl can usually be found up to his elbows in some unloved piece of BL detritus when he isn’t snapping and scribbling for various print magazines or producing the book on road tripping or tally-ho adventurers. Pictures from what would have been the 2020 Revival. So if you ever are in northern Italy and spot a fifty-year-old Mini with buggered suspension, littered with spotlights and a blow-over paintjob in red, white or blue …. On... Suzuki Swift Sport Hybrid Gets Wet And Wild in Wales, An assortment of my old cars on an assortment of old tracks – a memory dump. It is a vastly different model to the one featured in the original, though, being a late Rover-produced model made in the late-1990s, not an Austin Mini Cooper Mk1, as was used in the original film. But what made The Italian Job (both of them) stand out and apart from the other movies was the use of very surprising cars in the movie, the Mini Cooper that belongs to the BMW family. The red MINI Cooper driven by Stella at the beginning of the film is a nod to the red Mini Coopers used in the original The Italian Job (1969). Call it good or bad, the BO results came in astoundingly in the movie’s favor, making it a hit in terms of money and audience recall. Meet the Moke, the Mini’s Simple Country Cousin, Dont Sniff The Clutch! Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. The film’s star Michael Caine and Chief Stunt Driver Remy Julienne helped Morton get the cars to their original state. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. They're each insured for £55,000 now and are now known as the official Italian Job Minis. Wearing phoney ‘G-reg’ plates, knocked up by Oakhurst Productions’ props department, the crooks’ getaway Minis should really have been in Mk2 guise if they were 1969 cars, with squared-off taillights, a bigger rear window and minus the moustachioed grilles. 850 classics in a greenhouse. But in truth, 32 Mini Coopers were used for production, one of them bearing two steering wheels. NEXT: Here's What Happened To James Dean's 1949 Mercury From Rebel Without A Cause. https://www.motorpunk.co.uk/.../the-cars/murky-history-original-italian-job-minis Let’s get into the Mini Coopers of The Italian Job and where they are now, considering they were one of the most important cast members of the film. With Donald Sutherland, Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron. From Newsweek:. All three were snapped up and auctioned off for a princely £19,800. Although we had Mark Wahlberg and the very delectable Charlize Theron drive these Minis in a superbly-directed car chase sequence. Nine years ago I made a drunken bid on EBay and... A couple of years ago I went to see a chap who had an example of a rare Maserati I was researching for a book. BMW just turned over the keys to 32 of its British bulldogs, and agreed to let the studio demolish them during the elaborate chase scenes. Using a motley collection of out-dated models, it hardly seems worth the bother of running around with false number plates one might argue. According to the article, David Morton, a mini fanatic from Newcastle, had paid £6,000 for three cardboard boxes of odds n’ sods salvaged from the original film cars. He considers his Isuzu D-Max V-Cross, Suzuki Ciaz, and Royal Enfield Classic 500, the three current flames of his life. There have been plenty of movies made about heists and most of them have involved fantastic cars with fabulous car chases. One of the classic Mini Coopers shown in this film, not part of the chase sequence but driven by Charlize Theron in the beginning was in actuality a 1963 Austin Mini Coupe, as a nod to the original movie. Westwood’s Rapbox Yukon on Ebay. After being betrayed and left for dead in Italy, Charlie Croker and … The first movie still had enough cool factor to get remade, this time into a more action-oriented film, with the chase sequence still featuring the Mini Coopers. But this is not the end of them. In addition to the six original UK cars, another 25 secondhand Mk1 Minis were sourced from Switzerland; some were hastily repainted in red, white and blue, and several lesser 850cc models were dressed up to look like Cooper S; it was these ‘cooking versions’ that were thrown from the coach in the closing Alpine scenes. Such was the intense training that Theron later said that she got two speeding tickets while driving her own car during the production, unable to keep herself from exceeding the 40 miles per hour speed limit around town. Harris Mann(k) to Casablanca – your invitation to a BL roadtrip/experiment. We agree, the Mini Cooper certainly has a long and interesting history. Is This Plymouth Satellite For Sale Really From 'Tommy Boy’? Mazda MX-5: 25 Years of the World's Favourite Sportscar, Porsche 911 ST – The Greatest Sports Car You’ve Probably Never Heard Of, Iran’s Arrow; This years must see (Iranian) film, Dutton Surf versus Suzuki Jimny – A MotorPunk Film for Carfection, Recreating the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally: a Mini tribute to Paddy Hopkirk, Mini Coopers in the 1965 RAC International. This car was part of an auction in 2009, by Mecum Auctions. https://www.travelwithamate.com/italian-job-mini-road-trip-itinerary This particular dual-steering Mini is now part of the Mini factory tour in Cowley, Oxford. Acura's Type-S Story Is About Making Everything A Little Bit Better, Here's Where The Mini Coopers From The Italian Job Are Today, the Mini Cooper certainly has a long and interesting history, Here's Where The Original Knight Rider Pontiac Trans Am Is Today, displayed them at the MiniFest in Staffordshire in 2011, All the actors had to undergo specialized stunt driving training, Here's Why You Should Buy A Mini Cooper S, Here's What Happened To James Dean's 1949 Mercury From Rebel Without A Cause. So let’s get into the Mini Coopers of The Italian Job and where they are now, considering they were one of the most important cast members of the film. ‘Only these three boxes came back to England’ David supposedly told Ted Thornhill, the hack from the Daily Mail, ‘there wasn’t much in them except for the lamp bars, bonnet straps and lots of small bits. The car chase was more imaginative than real and far more amusing than it was thrilling, reason enough why it was later parodied in many shows over the years. In 2018, he officially flipped and switched sides to the editorial. He currently writes for HotCars on anything that has any number or kind of wheels. So far, summer's best product placement the too-cute Mini Coopers in The Italian Job didn't cost the car company a penny. MINI's origins began in the late 1950s as a new type … In 2003, The Italian Job was remade and released as a far more action-oriented film considering it had Jason Statham and Mark Wahlberg in it. The actor performed on the dummy wheel while a stunt driver, unseen on the camera, was the one to actually drive the car. US Air Force Previews Next-Gen Fighter Jet, Looking Back At The Time Audi Placed A Lamborghini Engine In The RS6, Here's How Much A 1967 Mustang Fastback Is Worth Today, Here’s How Much A 1996 Mountaineer Costs Today, Mini Cooper Vs. Countryman: These Are the Main Differences, GVWR Vs GCWR Explained And Why They're Important, These Are The Cars In Jay Kay's Collection, Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Among Several Vehicles Stolen From Michigan Dealership, Messerschmitt KR200: Germany's Abominable Three-Wheeled Two-Seater, This Is What Makes The 1967 Shelby GT500 Special, Airstream: The Silver Bullet That’s A Slice Of Americana, Record-Breaking 200 MPH Dodge Charger Daytona For Sale, A Doctor Was One Of The Victims In Recent Texas Tesla Crash, Remembering The Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic, Why This 1999 C5 Corvette Appeals To Jay Leno Over European Exotics. A fresh take on sports: the biggest news and most entertaining lists. 4) in 1992, the model with 2-door fastback sedan body and Line-4 1275 cm3 / 77.7 cui engine size, 37 kW / 50 PS / 50 hp (ECE) of power, 89 Nm / 66 lb-ft of torque, 4-speed manual powertrain offered since October 1992 for Europe special edition. https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/mini/mini---the-italian-job-1969 We know all of them, as we have manufactured and supplied Italian Job Mini kits for most of these. As far as the rest of the cars are concerned, both Paramount Pictures and BMW have kept a tight lid over the fate of how many were destroyed, how many survived, and where the survivors are today. In the 1969 version of The Italian Job, 16 Mini Coopers were used in total. Europe’s biggest barnfind? Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. The 2021 Goodwood Revival – here’s why you should book now. At the time, they were all the pre-1968 Mk I models, although their license plates said otherwise. De Tomaso Pantera: Cooler than a Countach. For the movie, most of the stunt driving was done by the actors themselves, be it Mark Wahlberg, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron, or even the others. Closing the doors and snapping the padlock shut, he headed back to Blighty; as far as he knows nobody from Oakhurst or Paramount ever bothered to return and collect the cars. But as a getaway vehicle, it lacked a certain pizzaz. There are many Italian Job Mini replicas that pay homage to this iconic film. Although I owned a brand new Mini Cooper S back in 2008 and I loved the car in many ways I would still not really recommend buying a used one to anyone. Tales from the forecourt – the scandals of Elf. So, lovely though they are, the Mk1 Cooper S Italian Job tributes that you were probably drooling over at the Revival last year are not quite the real deal, despite what the Daily Mail might tell you. The modern Mini Cooper has been around for nearly 15 years now, and although it's had … Colonel Gaddafi’s Rocket Car – not quite what you’d expect, Easiest Job in the World – The Sleazy Seventies Ad Man. Your email address will not be published. Here's Where The Mini Coopers From The Italian Job Are Today News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. All the actors had to undergo specialized stunt driving training, and all of them called it quite an experience. RELATED: Here's Where The Original Knight Rider Pontiac Trans Am Is Today. I understand the red cooper is the only 'S' used but what bodykit are used on all the cars, which alloys and what suspension set up. That said; none of the 16 Mini Coopers of the show survived and all were destroyed during filming. – Aventador Gets Tracked, The Real Transporter – Helge Meyer And His Ghost Camaro, The Pint and Puncture – Rich’s DIY Bicycle bar, Porsche’s $1million Advent Calendar & MotorPunk’s cut price alternative, SUPER – Old, odd, interesting, obscure and abandoned filling stations. Ken Morris, the last production crew member to leave Turin after the shoot, reckons that that there were six surplus Minis and a stack of 10” Minilite wheels locked away in the garage that had served as the prop department’s base during the summer of 1968. Arun Singh Pundir has been a longtime media crackerjack and worked most of his life in sales and marketing. All actors also admitted that Charlize Theron was the best driver of them all. Not very Goodwood. Old petrol station blather with Hagerty U.K. The only one that Shaw outright defends is a mini-cooper, which he mentions he got as the result of "a job I pulled in Italy." The movie’s car stunts were more fantasy than reality, showing the Minis driving into sewers, leaping off rooftops, and even driving on railway tracks. And many agreed the movie did put the Mini Cooper in a very good light. However, several ex-BMC employees have gone on record as saying at least one Mini was specially prepared for the Italian Job, fitted with a 1800cc B-series engine and gearbox from the ‘Landcrab’ as the Coopers lacked sufficient torque for some of the stunts. https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/mini/93403/3-mini-cooper-the-italian-job This week’s movie is The Italian Job (2003) and the 2003 Mini Cooper that was moded to steal quite a bit of … "The Italian Job" is about a group of bandits trying to pull off an elaborate gold heist, a remake of the 1969 Michael Caine film. But most importantly the original number plates and log books were there.’. As far as figures go, the production crew bought 16 Coopers and an extra However, these registrations could never have been assigned to the real Italian Job cars as they were ‘future dated’ to make the six 1967 Mk1 Mini Cooper S (bought from BMC at trade price) look like 1969 models, the year of the movie’s subsequent release. Whatever happened to Timothy? Not that he has too much free time. 5 tips to help prepare for the Goodwood revival. Holy Schnikes! No-one really knows what happened to the fleet of surviving Minis that were used on the set. As might be expected, BMW saw a surge in the popularity of the MINI after the 2003 movie was released. https://competition.ukminis.co.uk/the-italian-job-movies-and-their-mini-coopers MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S. The smallest car on American roads has a 2003 starting price of $16,975, and has taken the automotive world by storm with over 30,000 sold in the U.S. alone since its re-launch. For now, it's just a Mini mystery! RELATED: Here's Why You Should Buy A Mini Cooper S. In the 2003 movie, the audience saw only three Minis, a red, a white, and a blue one. As an occasional presenter on CBS's Carfection YouTube channel, his other hobbies include vintage Scalextrics, ‘60s Bang & Olufsen and dabbling in grassroots motorsport. While Wahlberg later describes as driving the Mini Cooper like driving an intensely-powered Go Kart, he did fess up to throwing up inside the car after the first 10 minutes of wild driving, during the training period. Now, the Mail Online is not MotorPunk’s usual go-to source for automotive related chitchat; receiving just one star on Trustpilot, it’s a “dirty little smear rag that’s not worth the paper it’s not printed on” as one reviewer pithily put it, and hardly renown for its investigative rigour. RELATED: 10 Most Iconic British Sports Cars Ever. In fact, since gasoline-powered vehicles were not allowed to be driven inside LA’s all-electric subway for safety reasons, production had to build two electric Mini Coopers and one Mini Cooper S to shoot the subway sequence. That the Mini Cooper is still a bestselling car today likely has a lot to do with "The Italian Job" and the 2003 remake. All sixteen Cooper S used in the filming of the Italian Job were also destroyed during filming, many ending up on their roofs and damaged beyond repair during the sewer tunnel stunts. Sorry for the bit of the hiatus but we have been quite busy. Welcome to what might be a long (but hopefully entertaining) read. Until these movies came along and gave the famous Mini Cooper another push. "The Italian Job" is a remake of a 1969 film by the same name, which used MINI Coopers in similar fashion. like did the 1969 Italian job use mini coppers year 69, or did it use mini coppers from an earlier year like 68? Directed by F. Gary Gray. I need to know for the 1969 film and 2003. where the mini coopers from that year or where they a different year? Of course, not everyone may have liked it as film critic Joe Morgenstern called the second of the two movies "the best car commercial ever." No, it was clear to us true mini geeks that the real story of how David’s trio of Italian Job replicas came to be sporting those ‘hero car’ number plates, had been lost in a melee of melodrama, sloppy fact checking and the Mail’s fumble for a clickbaity headline. This is a direct reference to The Italian Job, or at least recalling the title and the distinct mini-coopers used in the film. 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