Leyland Cars Mini 1000 Mark IV

In the pilot episode of the series, which aired January 1st, 1990, Mr. Bean first appears driving an orange Mini. Immediately one of the series’ running gags is established as Mr. Bean uses his Mini to basically run a Reliant Robin off the road. One of the reasons that a Reliant was chosen to be the car often antagonised by Mr. Bean was Rowan Atkinson’s lack of respect for the car.

Even though his first Mini is orange, some iconic elements are already present on the car, such as the padlock that Mr. Bean uses to lock it. The car doesn’t survive the episode, as it suffers on off-screen crash after Mr. Bean drives it down a dead end. The last we see of it is its tyre bouncing back from the supposed site of the accident.

What is also notable about this car is that, even to this day, not everyone can agree on what type of Mini it actually was. Common consensus appears to favour it being an MK2 Morris Mini; however, multiple fan forums and Mini enthusiasts have speculated after extensive research that it was indeed an MK1 Austin Mini with a MK2 grille and rear lights installed. What makes precise identification difficult is that the car was not built for the series per se, and with the Mini being more than a couple of decades old, it could easily mean that a previous owner, or owners, had modified the original car in some way.

Activations & Controls:

Ag1 - Headlights
Ag2 - Window Wipers

ET VOILÀ!