Toy Minis will not be replacing the hammer at the 2012 Olympics, but they will be used to ferry hammers, javelins, discuses and shots from the field to the throwing area, saving time during competition.

Three “Mini Minis” will be deployed and will be operated by Games Makers assigned and trained for this duty. The cars are roughly a quarter scale of the full-sized car and carry the athletic equipment situated inside, accessible through the adapted sunroof. The cars are all blue and feature the same Games livery as the ‘full-size’ official fleet vehicles.

“The MINI team was thrilled to be given this challenge to develop a vehicle with such an important and high profile role during the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” commented Dr Juergen Hedrich, Managing Director of MINI Plant Oxford. “I know that everybody was inspired by the challenge and the knowledge that these models will be seen in action by millions of people around the world.”

Each of the three Mini Minis will cover around 6,000 metres per day in four-hour shifts across nine days of Olympic and nine days of Paralympic competition. They can carry 8 kg and run for 35 minutes of continuous usage with a radio control range of approximately 100 metres and be fully re-charged in 80 minutes.

Just as an aside, wouldn’t being a Mini Mini controller be the best job at the Olympics – but how will they resist the temptation to do a few tricks in front of a few hundred million TV viewers?