BMW Adds 'Mini' MINI to London Olympic Games Lineup
As the Official Automotive Partner to the 2012 London Olympic Games, the BMW Group has contributed an entire fleet of low-emissions vehicles to shuttle around athletes and officials within Olympic Park and the surrounding Games sites.
Joining the 160 BMW 1 Series ActiveE models and 40 MINI E models is an electric radio-controlled ‘mini’ MINI, being used on the field of play in the Olympic Stadium. That’s right, a miniature MINI car is shuttling around javelins, discuses, hammers, and shots back from the field to the throwing area.
Game Makers have been trained to control these mini MINIs, and a trio of them have been unleashed onto the Olympic Games to help keep things moving along in a timely fashion. The radio-controlled cars are about a quarter of the size of a real MINI and can carry the athletic equipment inside through the adapted sunroof.
Each of the three mini MINIs will travel around 20,000 feet per day in four-hour shifts, across nine days of Olympic and nine days of Paralympic competition. They can carry a load up to 17.5 lbs and is powered by batteries that sustain 35 minutes of continuous use and can be fully recharged in just 80 minutes.
GALLERY: London Olympic Games ‘Mini’ MINI
Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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