A few days ago we brought you a story that outlined the best movie cars of all time. You can read that article by clicking here. In that post, the voting public claimed that The Italian Job featured the best movie car chase scene of all time.

Remember, this is the original 1969 movie, not the 2003 remake, which featured new Minis and South Africa’s own Charlize Theron. Many considered this scene even more entertaining than that of the famous chase from Bullitt that involved a Dodge Charger and Ford Mustang, the latter driven by Steve McQueen.

In the original, Charlie Croker (played by Michael Caine) and his band of robbers steal gold bullion worth several million pounds from a bank in Italy. To make an effective getaway the team use original Mini Coopers to escape the city in which they’ve created a massive traffic jam.

There are no computer generated images (CGI) in these action sequences, just a trio of nimble little cars driven by skilled and brave stunt drivers. The escaping gold thieves ramp across buildings, drive up and down stairs, interrupt a wedding, and even zoom around the banked oval of Fiat’s famous roof-top test track in Turin.

Apart from the classic car chase The Italian Job was also known for this Matt Monro classic track On Days Like These, which played while one of the movie’s main characters drove a Lamborghini Miura through the winding Italian Alps. The movie also featured Alfa Giulias (such as this one we drove recently) as well as Jaguar E-Types. You could say it was the 1960s equivalent of the Fast and the Furious, only a lot classier.

Enjoy one of the best car chase scenes ever made, and if you don’t agree, please let us know which is your favourite in the comments section below.