MINI United - a magnet for fans from around the globe

Munich/Silverstone. The third edition of what has already become the legendary
MINI United Festival was held this year from 22 - 24 May in glorious sunshine
at the Formula One track in Silverstone, England. 25,000 fans from more than 40
countries made the pilgrimage to the world's premier gathering of its kind.
They arrived in over 10,000 MINI models, most of them lovingly individualised.
Numerous German fan clubs made their way to the venue, mostly setting out by
car on the long journey to the UK. Even for participants from as far afield as
Russia, the USA and South Africa, no effort or cost was too great to ensure
they could pay personal tribute to the British classic on its 50th birthday.
Likewise determined not to miss out on this winning mix of racing action, music
festival and lifestyle spectacular were a whole raft of celebrities.

As part of the world premiere for the new Mayfair and Camden special models,
the now 75-year-old Mary Quant - British style icon and inventor of the
miniskirt - disclosed a long-guarded secret: the designation "mini-skirt" is
not derived from the celebrated brevity of the garment; it was her much-loved
car that inspired her to choose this name.

To mark the 50th anniversary, MINI also took the wraps off a reinterpretation
of George Harrison's flamboyant model. This one-off, presented to Olivia
Harrison on Saturday night, fully met the precise design brief of the Beatles'
widow. She accepted the MINI on behalf of the Material World Charitable
Foundation, a charity which George Harrison founded in 1973. The car will be
auctioned this year to raise funds for the foundation. "George was a huge MINI
fan and he would have enjoyed this new version. The fact that the 50th
anniversary celebrations for MINI will also benefit our foundation has made it
an enjoyable as well as meaningful collaboration," said Olivia Harrison.

But there were plenty more unique models to get pulses racing among the fans.
British fashion designer Paul Smith again presented the model created by him,
while the designs by David Bowie, Kate Moss, Missoni and the acclaimed
illustrator and graphic designer Alan Aldridge were also on display. Similarly
drawing approving looks were the original cars from films like "The Italian
Job" and "Austin Powers".

The major highlight of the United Festival was the appearance of "modfather"
Paul Weller, erstwhile frontman of the two legendary bands The Jam and The
Style Council and now a longstanding and highly successful solo artist. "As I'
ve been driving MINI all my life, I was delighted to be able to join in the
50th birthday celebrations," said Weller. As a tribute to the British artist,
the band Twisted Wheel performed a cover version at the festival of one of his
classic numbers, "That's Entertainment". The track will be exclusively
available from the MINI website: www.minispace.com.

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If you have any questions regarding this press release, please contact:
BMW Group
Susanne Spatz
Tel.: +49-89-382-20961
Fax: +49-89-382-28017
e-mail address: susanne.spatz@mini.com