There can't be many people that haven't seen the classic film 'The Italian Job'. Speeding through Europe in a Mini, taking in beautiful scenery, exciting car chases and the thought of getting away with all that gold has to be the ultimate excitement. Who needs the flash sports cars of James Bond when you have a classic Mini?
The film of 1969 starring Michael Caine, followed a gang of robbers who planned to pull off a gold bullion robbery in Turin and escape by causing chaos after hijacking the cities computerised traffic control system and make their escape along a carefully planned route in Mini cars. Part comedy and part drama, this film has become an institution in British film making history.
The knock on effects of this hit movie are still felt and Mini have organised rallies throughout Europe since 1990 for various children's charities. On October 24th 2008, one hundred Minis will participate in this year,s event (with their drivers of course). Starting in Imola and finishing about ten days later in Brighton, this event will see ralliers soaking up the unbeatable atmosphere of the race itself and also give them the chance to follow a route that diverts from the beaten track, leading to places you wouldn't normally see.
Mini have so far raised over two million pounds for children's charities and given people the chance to have a holiday with a difference, giving something back to society along the way. But fund raising is no new deed for Mini.
They have already achieved a record breaker with their moving mile of Minis and are looking to break their own record. They need 290 Minis to break their last record of 289 and this event will take place on May 11th.
Both events prove to be colourful given that, according to statistics, only one in every 50,000 Mini's could possibly be the same. These figures are based on the number of variations and choice given to the customer over their order regarding interior, exterior and added extras.
In theory, this means that, given the UK sales of Mini to date, there could possibly be only four cars that are the same. Customisation of a car is a personal thing but re-sale values should not be worried about. The Mini is as classic as the film that made it so famous and therefore will always be sought after.
Out of 1.8 million internet searches for cars, Mini came twentieth making it still one of the highest searched for cars, used or new. Make it a silver Mini and you're laughing when it comes to re-selling. Silver is the most popular colour for cars with over 670,000 sold in 2006. This is probably because it is the colour least likely to show the dirt and is not subject to fading.
Try offering for sale on the internet a silver Mini Cooper D or Clubman and your hand will be snapped off. This car comes under the new regulations governing congestion charges in London and now makes it totally free. This is due to their successful efforts to cut down on Co2 emissions so not only will you get to travel the capital for free but you will be subject to a mere 35 pounds a year road tax charge and have the car of your dreams in the perfect colour.
