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MINI Factory Tour and Oxford

August 16, 2008 on 11:22 pm | In Recent Posts |

After leaving the Heritage Museum I headed south to Oxford.   Was able to bring the camera in to take pictures of the waiting area but then had to leave it behind during the tour.

 several classics on display

and the S used in the Italian Job movie driven by Charlize Theron with two steering wheels!  Car was actually driven by a stunt driver while she sat and made it look good.   Also the Million MINI.

The factory tour was awesome!  Everything seemed very efficient and there were lots of MINI’s moving along the assembly lines getting built.  Really is great to see how along the same line you have cars destined for various countries (LHD, RDH), different engines and accessories (JCW, Diesels) and models (Cooper a, Clubman but no convertibles.. not yet).   Did not get to see the paint process but since we were a small group we got to see the chassis fabrication where all the shells are put together and there are usually several hundred shells ready at any point.  Wouldn’t mind seeing a limited edition stainless steel MINI like the Delorean built.

Once I left the factory I drove around Oxford and took in Radcliffe Square and Oxford University.

Had some more daylight left so I headed for Windsor Castle and what a Castle it is!  Got there late and could not go in but will make it on my next trip.

 All the days pixs