From Newsweek:

So far, summer's best product placement the too-cute Mini Coopers in The Italian Job didn't cost the car company a penny. BMW just turned over the keys to 32 of its British bulldogs, and agreed to let the studio demolish them during the elaborate chase scenes. The criminals are trying to steal gold, but the Mini hijacks the movie running down stairs, sneaking onto subway tracks, outmaneuvering helicopters. (Charlize Theron is considerably less active.) Just three weeks after the movie's premiere, Mini folks estimate that sales have spiked more than 20 percent. What aspiring baddie wouldn't pay $20,000 for the ultimate getaway car. “We like to think they're fleeing from everyday life,” says a spokesman.