The Italian Job (charity event) The Italian Job (charity event) The Italian Job is an annual fundraising event, inspired by the original 1969 film The Italian Job, starring Michael Caine and Noël Coward. The run takes place during late October and early November, and involves Minis and other cars driving from the UK to northern Italy and back. A wide variety of Minis have participated in this modern-day self-preservation society, ranging from models built as early as 1959, the first year of production of the Mini, to brand new BMW MINIs, via derivatives such as the Innocenti, Mini Moke, Mini Marcos, Domino and many more.
The Italian Job which escorts the gold convoy is a conversion of a former Second World War American M8 Greyhound armoured car. The original 37mm gun was removed and replaced with a water cannon. A Land Rover Series IIa Station Wagon, registration BKO 686C, was used to get to the convoy before attacking and was modified with window bars and a towbar. A Ford Thames 400E van was used for the football fans' decorated van; this was referred to as the Dormobile, the name of a common camper-van conversion coachbuilder. The cross-Channel ferry featured in one scene is the MS "Free Enterprise I".