july-2012

MARTEN SEALBY
on the road: london
jay miller takes a mini cooper special olympic edition around the official marathon route
I
t comes belting backwards out of a big white truck like
something out of The Italian Job. Already the tune of The Self-
Preservation Society is playing in my head. Clearly this squat
little beaut is looking for trouble, but there’s no gold heist happening
here. Delivered to my door, I’m now taking this special Olympic edition
Mini Cooper – only 2012 of them made, natch – along the 26.2-mile
(42.2 km) marathon route that stretches from St James’s Park and
heads east out to Tower Hill and back again, looping three times around
FLY TO london four times daily. brusselsairlines.com
the circuit. The question is, in London traffic, can we complete the route
quicker than a champion marathon runner?
This iconic British car, now owned by BMW, has never looked so
patriotic. With its white roof emblazoned with the 2012 Olympic Games
logo, its lightning blue metallic bodywork adorned with a red, white and
blue Union Jack stripe, this car could not look more British if Austin
Powers leapt out eating fish and chips, doing the Mashed Potato. Yeah
baby, this car was made for cruising around London in summer.
july 2012 27