MINI Stars In "THE ITALIAN JOB"

Paramount Pictures To Release Contemporary Remake Of Popular 1969 Classic Film
On May 30th.

HOLLYWOOD, April 7, 2003. . .MINI, the 2003 North American Car of the Year,
will join a stellar cast that includes Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Charlize
Theron, Jason Statham, Seth Green, Mos Def and Donald Sutherland, in Paramount
Pictures' film, "The Italian Job," opening nationwide May 30th. A contemporary
adaptation of the 1969 classic, which starred Michael Caine, Noel Coward and
Benny Hill, this updated version of "The Italian Job," directed by F. Gary
Gray, pays homage to the original film and adds a modernized twist.

In "The Italian Job," mastermind thief Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) pulls off
an amazing gold bullion heist from a heavily guarded palazzo in Venice, Italy,
only to be double-crossed by one of his crew. Seeking revenge, Charlie recruits
Stella (Charlize Theron), a beautiful nerves-of-steel safecracker, and along
with his former gang, follows the backstabber to California where they plan to
re-steal the gold by manipulating traffic signals and creating havoc on the
streets of Los Angeles.

Inspired by the use of the original Mini Cooper, the new movie showcases MINI
throughout the film, proving the vehicle's agility as it maneuvers through
traffic, careens down stairs, weaves through subway tunnels and races down
sidewalks as only MINI can.

The elaborate stunt sequences had MINIs performing spectacular jumps,
withstanding numerous bullet hits and surviving a series of scrapes. Although
audiences will see only three MINIs -- one red, one white and one blue --
filming the escape with the gold during the height of rush hour traffic in Los
Angeles actually took 32 cars.

The MINI made its reentry into the U.S. market in March 2002 with the all-new
MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S. The smallest car on American roads has a 2003
starting price of $16,975, and has taken the automotive world by storm with
over 30,000 sold in the U.S. alone since its re-launch.

MINI's origins began in the late 1950s as a new type of car designed to combat
the Suez fuel crisis. The Classic Mini continues to be Britain's best-selling
car ever. With over 5 million sold in the UK alone, the car remains a cultural
icon around the world, driven by everyone from The Beatles to British Royalty.
The Classic version was sold in the U.S from 1960-1967 and still enjoys a cult
following to this day.

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America has been present in the United States since 1975. Since
then, the BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales
and financial service organizations for the BMW and MINI brands and Rolls-Royce
Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a
technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the
country. BMW Manufacturing Corp. in South Carolina is part of BMW's global
manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4
Roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is
represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW car, 327 BMW Sports
Activity Vehicle, 148 BMW Motorcycle retailers, and 70 MINI dealers. BMW (US)
Holding Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North, Central and South
America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet
at http://www.bmwusa.com, http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com, and
http://www.miniusa.com

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Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available
to journalists on-line at the BMW Group PressClub at the following address -
www.press.bmwgroup.com.

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