The Italian Job (charity event) for Children. From 2008 to 2011 the event supported Kids Out, a Bedfordshire based national grant giving children’s charity, before moving its support again in 2012 to Variety, the Children’s Charity and remained with Variety until 2017. In 2018 the Italian Job will support Buttle UK. The first run was billed as ""24 hours from Trento to Brighton!"" Fifty six teams responded to an advert that asked, ""Would you like to drive to northern Italy in aid of BBC Children in Need and Childline appeals?"" and included a team from Auto Express and the winner of the Oldest Mini –
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".