Mr. Bean’s Mini was a 1977 Leyland Cars Mini 1000 in Austin Citron Green, with a matte black bonnet and a padlock where the door lock should be. It never said a word, and neither did its owner. Even so, the little green car became a star of British television in its own right.
Rowan Atkinson’s character first appeared on New Year’s Day 1990. Over the series, he bolted his Mini shut, drove it from an armchair on the roof and watched a tank flatten it. However, the real car behind the gags has a tidier history than the show suggests.
Here is what the Mini was, why it wore a padlock, how many cars the production went through, and where the main car is today.
What Mr. Bean’s Mini really was
The famous green car is a 1977 Leyland Cars Mini 1000 Mark IV in Austin Citron Green, with the bonnet painted matte black. That is how MINI’s own heritage article describes it. The car debuted in the third episode, “The Curse of Mr. Bean.”
MINI is also clear on one point that trips up many fans. The car “is not a classic Mini Cooper, even though many online sources refer to it as such,” the company writes. In other words, it was an ordinary 1000, the everyday version of the car.
The registration records also back that up. The Internet Movie Cars Database lists the main car as SLW 287R, a 998cc petrol Mini 1000 first registered in March 1977. According to the same entry, the car left the factory in Harvest Gold and got its green paint for the show. That explains why the DVLA record lists its colour as gold.
The orange Mini that came first
However, the green car was not the first. In the pilot, which aired on January 1, 1990, Mr. Bean drove an orange Mini, MINI notes. The Internet Movie Cars Database lists that car as RNT 996H.
Exactly what the orange car was remains argued over. MINI says common consensus favours an MK2 Morris Mini. Still, some fans believe it was an MK1 Austin Mini with an MK2 grille and rear lights, possibly changed by a previous owner.
Either way, it did not last. The orange Mini was destroyed off-screen after Mr. Bean drove it down a dead end, according to MINI. Parts lived on, though. HotCars reports that its seats, carpet and steering wheel cover moved into the green cars.
Why the Mini wore a bolt and padlock
Mr. Bean did not trust the factory lock. So he fitted his own. “An iconic feature of the Mini was the bolt-latch and padlock fitted to it, which became a running joke across the series,” Carsales notes.
The padlock came with the character from the start. MINI says it was already on the orange car in the pilot. By contrast, it is missing in the green car’s first scene, because that car was not quite ready when filming began. After that, MINI writes, “the padlock is ever-present.”
Besides, the lock was only part of his security routine. Auto123 describes a sequence of hidden keys that leads to the ignition key, plus the complete removal of the steering wheel. Carsales sums it up as a low-tech “key in key in key” system. In fact, the padlock outlived the car itself: in “Back to School Mr. Bean,” the crushed Mini is left with nothing but its padlock intact, MINI notes.
How many Minis Mr. Bean went through
A car that gets crushed by a tank needs understudies. Carsales says the production used three main working Minis. It also had two more in the same colours with no engine, kept for the most dramatic scenes.
Even so, the wider count is higher. MINI says Mr. Bean “had at least six Minis over the course of the series and movies.” The show wrecked many of them, and parts sometimes moved from one car to another. As a result, MINI adds, some model details remain unclear.
The Internet Movie Cars Database fills in a few of the extras. It lists a 1978 Mini 1000, YAN 939T, built for “The Trouble with Mr. Bean.” It also lists an engineless 1980 Mini 1000, ACW 497V, that ended up under the tank. Meanwhile, a heavily modified Mini served as the stunt car in “Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean,” MINI says. That is the episode where he drives home seated in an armchair strapped to the roof.
Rowan Atkinson and the Mini after the series
The car fit the actor as well as the character. HotCars reports that Atkinson chose the car and its colours himself. He wanted it to look funny and stand out from other Minis on the road. Atkinson is a serious car enthusiast, too, HotCars notes. Over the years he has owned a McLaren F1 and races classic cars at the Goodwood Revival.
The Mini did not end with the series. Mr. Bean’s Holiday in 2007 used a Mini painted Nissan Amarillo Yellow, according to MINI. The company also points to a 2015 Comic Relief sketch featuring another Mini. In addition, Atkinson sometimes appears in a replica of the armchair stunt car at charity events, MINI says.
Meanwhile, replicas keep the look alive elsewhere. The Internet Movie Cars Database notes one, registered DRW 221T, on display at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu. The original main car has fared better than most of its stand-ins. According to the database, SLW 287R survives, the 1977 Mini 1000 that carried Mr. Bean’s padlock through much of the series.
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