When most people turn 50, their thoughts might turn to early retirement, golf courses and can you believe what those gosh-darned kids are wearing these days? Since its reintroduction in North America in 2002, Mini has been the hip, young, cool brand, with hip, young, cool owners – or at least young at heart. So when Mini celebrates its 50th birthday, we get parties, DJs, thumping music and break dancing.

Owing to the youthful push, there’s even a celebratory 50th-anniversary song, and a documentary called Rebel Without Pause to view on the official Mini YouTube site.

Mini’s global birthday celebration was back in May at the company’s headquarters in Oxford, UK, where there were thousands of participants on hand. In Canada, one of the brand’s celebrations took place in Toronto in late August at Polson Pier on Lake Ontario, where the company arranged a number of events. According to Mini Canada, over 1,200 enthusiasts showed up with over 500 Minis of every vintage and flavour, a record-setting number.
For Mini enthusiasts across Canada, there were already similar events in Montreal earlier this summer, and Vancouver around the same time as the Toronto shindig.

Father and son Anthony and Vito Sestito from Toronto bought their 2005 Cooper S after their original ’72 Volkswagen Bug died and Vee-Dub’s new Beetle just didn’t cut it. “We were immediately attracted to the Mini,” Anthony said. “It’ll hold four people, it’s comfortable… My wife likes to think it’s her car, so we fight over the keys.”
Mini also held a contest where five local dealerships were given free rein to customize current models however they saw fit. Despite some close competition from the Paul Smith-esque striped Cooper and the surfer-style Mini Clubman S complete with faux-wood paneling, the folks from Durham Mini were crowned the winners thanks to their Robocop-like Mini Cooper S JCW decked out like a stealth police cruiser.

Some of the other displays, like the live mural spray-painting, were organized by local youth group The Remix Project. According to Mini Canada, it’s “an organization that helps youth achieve their goals of working in creative and cultural industries,” and more than $7,000 was raised through the on-site charity BBQ.

Other activities included free go-karting, a break-dancing display by local group Supernatural, and Mini Bingo, put on by the Southern Ontario Mini Club (SOMC). Once the sun went down, Polson Pier’s drive-in screened the ultimate Mini movie, The Italian Job – albeit the 2003 remake.

But the most entertaining had to be Mini owners talking to other Mini owners. Seeing an original Austin parked next to a BMW-designed Mini is shocking, but even though the two share nothing more than a name and a similar concept, there was plenty of love between owners of each. Some Minis were modified, others were left bone stock. Some had stickers, others had stuffed animals, and there was at least one Austin Powers spotted grinning lecherously out of a sunroof. One teenage girl walking with her family back to their car could be overheard asking, “Which one’s ours?”

Few new-Mini owners probably know the Mini’s history. The car’s father, Sir Alec Issigonis, brought his vision of economical transportation to the masses with the Austin Mini in 1959, a revolution in packaging and vehicle design. The fact that you could fit four people and luggage into such a small footprint was revolutionary and it helped popularize front-wheel drive. By the ’60s, the Mini was hip and cool thanks to the Beatles and other Brit stars, and now featured sporty ‘S’ models created by John Cooper of Formula One fame. The Mini was a world-beater on track too, going up against the ridiculously large Ford Galaxies in British touring car racing, and winning the Monte Carlo Rally three years in a row.

Like the original Volkswagen Beetle, the first Mini continued in production in Britain until 2000 when it was finally retired to make way for the new Mini. When the ‘new’ Mini launched in 2001, it was 55 cm longer, 30 cm wider, and weighed nearly twice as much. But Mini fans have been smitten ever since. It took the ‘new’ Mini the same amount of time to sell one million vehicles as the original did way back when.

Real estate agents Chris and Les Sohar from Waterdown, Ont. – who coincidentally have a series debuting on HGTV called Realtor vs. Realtor – said their new 2008 Cooper Convertible is “something just for us. At this stage of our lives, that’s something we appreciate.” They both love late-night drives with the top down, and have even featured their ride in the new television show.

German Riveros, who originally hails from Colombia, said his red 2002 Cooper is a car he’ll hold onto for a while yet. “I love the design,” he said. “It’s fun to drive, and I still get plenty of looks!”

That doesn’t sound like someone ready for retirement.