Mr Bean’s Mini for sale, a very special carand just unique for Mini Cooper and Mr. Bean. It is the 2009 Goodwood Revival “Mr Bean Mini”.

Lot 241
Registration Number: F885 RRY
Chassis Number: SAXXL2S1020425475

Rowan Atkinson’s character ‘Mr Bean’ is perhaps one of the most immediately identifiable comedy characters, known to millions of fans throughout the world. Television audiences have enjoyed the near surrealistic antics of this almost silent comedy since Mr Bean was first broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990, with the fourteenth and final episode going out on 15 November 1995. With such immediate access, the show has been sold in 200 territories worldwide, and has inspired two feature films plus an animated cartoon series.

One of the most memorable props employed by Mr Bean was car, a British Leyland Mini 1000, which seems to have developed in character as the series progressed. At first, an orange 1969 BMC Mini MK II (registration RNT 996H) was Mr. Bean‘s vehicle, but this was destroyed in an off-screen crash at the end of the first episode. From then on, the car most associated with Mr Bean was a 1977 model (registration SLW 287R), in lime-green with a black bonnet, which made its first appearance in “The Curse of Mr Bean”. This Mini was central to several sketches, seen with Mr. Bean getting dressed in it, feuding with the driver of a light blue Reliant 3-wheeler van or driving while sitting in an armchair strapped to the roof in an attempt to get the proceeds of a department store sale back to his flat in Highbury. The car is also memorable for having a number of innovative security measures; Mr. Bean fitted the door with an oversized bolt-latch and padlock and removing the steering wheel, which formed a running joke in several episodes.

Essentially the Mr Bean character was created for studio production and, apart from some early development sketches – Mr Bean has never been performed live by Atkinson – until the Goodwood Revival meeting in 2009. Lord March, the founder of this extraordinary ‘Step Back in Time’ event, has enjoyed a very close relationship with Atkinson – sharing a common enthusiasm for historic racing cars. Atkinson has been a regular – and very able – competitor at this event for many years and his presence there has certainly added a special element to the many attractions that the event has to offer. 2009 saw the 50th anniversary celebration of the first production Mini and Lord March was not a man to let such a great opportunity slip through his grasp. He dedicated an all-Mini Cooper ‘S’ race to the programme and commissioned his team of organisers to assemble the largest assembly of Mini-based variants to parade around his historic motor circuit. But the trick that Lord March had up his sleeve was to ask Rowan Atkinson to create a one-off, live performance as Mr Bean especially for the Revival meeting. After much thought, Atkinson agreed. However there was one small obstacle – Mr Bean’s Mini. The plan was to create a ‘moment’ from ‘Do-it-yourself Mr Bean’ TV episode (Episode 10, first televised on 10th January 1994), where Mr Bean has bought several items from a department store sale including an armchair, paint cans and an assortment of brushes and mops. After strapping the chair to the roof and squeezing everything else inside the car he realises there‘s no room left for himself. He then has an idea. Bean successfully constructs a way of remotely driving the car from the chair attached to the roof, and embarks on a hilarious driving expedition which goes incredibly well until he ends up on a steep decline and his only braking device is to run the Mini inside a parked delivery van.

So far, so good. But where would Goodwood source a Mr Bean Mini, capable of driving around Goodwood circuit apparently controlled by Mr Bean from a chair on the roof? It was a tall order! Goodwood called on one of their consultants to evaluate the project and a suitable donor car was purchased to start the process. Working closely with the team at Classic Cars of Kent, they set about how to present the car at close quarters – and make it appear to function as though Mr Bean was driving from his lofty perch! The solution is a trade secret and will only be revealed to the new owner of this unique vehicle. All that can be said at this stage is that the car is fully operational! Such was the attention to detail applied to this recreation that every prop used in the original TV sketch was identified and sourced – right down to the half-brick handbrake device! As for the car itself, it was stripped to a bare shell by the CCK team and built from the ground up to replicate the original TV car in every detail. Such attention to detail was put to the test when the recreated Mr Bean Mini and Rowan Atkinson came face to face at the Goodwood Motor Circuit for a test day. An enthusiastic Rowan Atkinson gave the car the thumbs up. From then on it was ‘Show Time’. The routine planned by the Goodwood Team was that Mr Bean would ‘gatecrash’ the all-Mini parade during the Revival meeting – by accessing the track from the wrong direction. The delighted Mr Bean then endeavoured to join the official Mini parade but was thwarted by the arrival of Goodwood’s period Police force – complete with original Police Mini Cooper ‘S’, which proceeded to chase the uninvited Mr Bean around the entire length of the race circuit! A typical Goodwood ‘moment’ was the arrival of Lord Peter Mandleson. ‘Good Day Prime Minister’ came the quip from Mr Bean – ‘Not just yet!’ was the retort from Mandy.

This has been the only live performance of the TV and film Mr Bean character – and, according to Rowan Atkinson – the last. The vision of Lord March has helped create such a special car for Rowan Atkinson to so supremely deliver what must arguably be one of the funniest performances that his immortal character has produced. The car is signed by Rowan Atkinson and again by him in his Mr Bean character ‘My Car – Mr Bean’ rather says it all! Coys are proud to offer the unique Goodwood Revival Mr Bean Mini in its fully operational and complete form – mops, buckets, paint pots and all. Truly unique!

Estimate: £12000 – £20000

Click for auction if you want to join auction for Mr. Bean’s Mini for sale.