THE last of 500 special edition Minis has rolled off the conveyor belt at the BMW plant in Cowley.

After 11 months of production, the final Mini World Championship will make its way to its new home in Australia.

The model proved so successful that the company doubled the amount made to meet demand.

The boost in trade comes days after the Oxford Mail revealed UK sales of other Oxford-built Minis dropped by more than 20 per cent after the Government car scrappage scheme ended.

Dr Jürgen Hedrich , managing director of Mini Plant Oxford, said: “The Mini World Championship has been an interesting and important project for Plant Oxford. This special and very popular sports car has generated a lot of interest around the world.”

The special edition Mini was inspired by racing driver and Formula One team owner John Cooper’s son, Mike.

Mr Cooper senior was a car developer and designer best known for creating the Brittish Motor Corporation Mini, which is still known as the Mini Cooper.

His team won 16 Grand prix races in the 1950s, featuring drivers like Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss, and two Formula One constructors’ world championships, in 1959 and 1960, with Brabham taking the drivers’ championship in both years..

Mr Cooper continued to serve as an adviser to BMW and Rover Mini’s design team until his death in 2000, aged 77.

His son Mike came up with a design concept based on British Racing Green and was consulted throughout the new vehicle’s development by Mini’s design department.

The car also marks two milestones: Mini’s 50th birthday in 2009 and the 50th anniversary of John Cooper’s first Formula One constructors’ title.

The Mini World Championship had a new colour – Connaught Green – which was inspired by the colour of British race cars in the 1950s and 60s.

Along with roof and bonnet stripes in Pepper White, the green, provided by Mike Cooper, mirrored the colour of Cooper Formula One cars.

Dr Hedrich said: “It was a great pleasure for us to work with Mike Cooper and to have his expertise.”

A total of 2,234 Minis were sold in July, compared to 2,816 in the same month last year.

The car dropped out of the country’s top 10 best sellers list, after being sixth in June.

The Oxford BMW plant employs about 3,700 people.

dhearn@oxfordmail.co.uk