Filmmakers have long seen the cinematic potential of an automobile rip-roaring down the road or skidding sideways to a stop. From big budget blockbuster Days of Thunder, to crack-up comedy Talladega Nights and Steve McQueen’s classic thriller Bullit, film and motorsport go together like fish and chips.
No stranger to celluloid history, MINI has made unforgettable cameos playing pivotal roles in Austin Powers and Mr. Bean, and a bevy of beautiful MINIs took the lead in 1969’s The Italian Job, and the 2003 remake. It’s proof that great design never goes out of style.
While other offbeat film genres sputter, choke, and stall, the car film continues to gain speed, with new twists around every bend. In 2008’s Love The Beast, ‘our’ Eric Bana documented his ongoing 25-year love affair with a Ford GT Falcon Coupe he received second hand from his dad. And Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof paid homage to the many iconic characters cars have created onscreen in cult classics like Two-Lane Blacktop, Vanishing Point, and White Line Fever.
Muscle cars, rev heads, and scorched pavement make for great movie screen fodder, and MINI is proud to have been a leader of the pack.
You too can drive like you are in The Italian Job, in a fleet of MINIs at The Stunt Driving School. You can jump, slide and spin a MINI as if you’re Mark Wahlberg.