Jason Statham & Mark Wahlberg’s 111-Minute Action Thriller Remake Hid A Secret In Its Getaway Cars
Paramount is reportedly working on a follow-up to The Italian Job, and you can catch the 2003 remake with Jason Statham and Mark Wahlberg for free right now on a streaming service. But did you know the crew had to pull off a pretty wild swap under the hood just to get those getaway cars down a flight of stairs?
The getaway cars in The Italian Jobhad to tear down a flight of stairs, squeeze through a Los Angeles subway station, and share real estate with a train. That sounds like enough of a headache for a stunt crew. Then came the rule that threw a wrench into the whole thing. If the cars were going underground, they couldn’t have exhaust fumes.
The Italian Job Had To Build Its Own Electric Getaway Cars
Yep, three of the little MINIs in the 2003 remake went electric. The crew was filming part of the chase in the actual Los Angeles Metro, where local authorities required cars that produced no exhaust fumes. Director F. Gary Gray figured BMW could send over a few electric MINIs. BMW told him there weren’t any.
So transportation coordinator John Carpenter and the crew built their own. They converted two MINI Coopers and one Cooper S, the red car driven by Charlize Theron’s character, Stella. More than a decade before the production MINI Cooper SE arrived, a Hollywood stunt crew was already flinging electric Coopers around a subway station. All because somebody wanted to send a hatchback down the stairs.
BMW Sent 32 MINIs For Three Starring Roles
You remember the red, white, and blue getaway cars. BMW remembers sending Paramount 32 MINIs. A hatchback that looks great in a close-up has a very different job from one that has to get airborne and land without folding its suspension. Some cars got suspension changes for jumps. Others got more power. A few were even cut in half to get the shot.
The filmmakers could also fit a second steering wheel, so a hidden stunt driver could handle the car while the actors up front delivered their lines. So if you’ve ever wondered how somebody can nail a line while threading a hatchback through absolute chaos, it helps to have another set of hands on the wheel.
Why The MINI Was The Perfect Getaway Car
The 1969 original made its red, white, and blue Minis famous by sending them through Turin. The remake took that same idea to Los Angeles, where the crew turns gridlock into part of the heist. A big V8 would sound great blasting away from the lights, but good luck finding a gap for it once traffic stops. The MINIs can duck down a sidewalk, dart through a narrow opening, and take the stairs when the road runs out. That last bit is a hell of a party trick for a hatchback.
The Italian Job is free to watch in the U.S. When the chase drops into the Metro, keep an eye on the red Cooper S. That little hot hatch had already ditched its gas engine by the time it hit the stairs.
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