Glittering Mini

The Burkitts are a husband and wife team who have created similar artworks in the past on everything from a Hummer to a double-decker bus, as well as more conventional surfaces. They chose a 2004 MINI Cooper for "American Icon", as the artwork was scheduled to tour a number of venues in the USA, before going to the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum in London. The New Cooper isn't their first 'Mini' effort, either. Previously, they covered a '69 Mini with gold-plated English pennies, and that car has also featured in Ripley's museums. The joke at the time referred to the coin-covered Mini being in "mint" condition!

As the name suggests, the American Icon MINI features a slice of Americana on each panel, from the Statue of Liberty on the bonnet, to Mount Rushmore and The Alamo down one side, and the Hollywood Hills sign, US Capitol Building, New York City skyline, Space Shuttle and Washington Monument down the other. The tailgate features the White House, while the Icon is finished off with a sprawling American flag and bald eagle on the roof.

The Swarovski crystals used were all the same size and apparently were created from 50 specific colours to represent the 50 States of the Union. With each crystal having to be placed by hand, it's not surprising that the American Icon Cooper took a team of four artists more that six months to create! The car is still completely drivable, and the Burkitts say the design takes on a different look as the light changes through the day.

When you think about it, it's a bit of a United Nations, effort this one - American icons, created by Canadians with Austrian products on a British car owned by a German company!

The Burkitts next project is "California Dreaming", a Mazda MX5 decorated with west coast beach and surf imagery. To see the "American Icon" Mini Cooper in colour and more of Burkitt & Burkitt's handiwork, go to www.burkittandburkitt.com