Remember the MINIs in The Italian Job? They were all EVs; know why

The Italian Job remake from 2003 with Mark Wahlberg, Jason Statham, and Charlize Theron as leads had a scene where the trio had to move three MINIs through the subway in Los Angeles. And they sounded like gas-powered engines, right?

Well, actually two electric-powered MINI Coopers and one MINI Cooper S had to be specially built for the film since gasoline-powered vehicles were not allowed to operate in LA’s subway system.

However, diehard fans of the film probably know this, since it’s not news. Director F. Gary Gray talked about it in 2013, when he confirmed that of the 32 custom MINIs they used for the film, three had all-electric drivetrains for the underground scene.

According to a report in The Drive, "They did not allow the production team to shoot in the tunnels with cars that had combustion engines. So the director said, 'Okay, great, we'll just get electric Minis and that'll be fine.' He called BMW and got the reply that there aren't any electric Minis, they don't exist."

John Carpenter, the transportation coordinator, did a great job at figuring out, engineering, and building a trio of electric Minis. The only electric Minis that existed on the planet Earth at that time.

Also, the actors were doing the driving when they rolled down those subway stairs and there was no CGI trickery employed, nor any stunt double was used.