British car workers were today celebrating after the Mini was named North American car of the year at Detroit's international car show.

The Mini Cooper, famous for its appearance in 60s film The Italian Job, held off competition from two new Nissan cars to take the Detroit accolade.

"We're absolutely thrilled - America loves the Mini," said Mini spokesman Mark Harrison.

BMW began Mini production at Cowley, near Oxford, in April 2001, with the cars going on sale the following summer.

The car was made available in the US in March 2002, with 20,000 of the new models being snapped up straight away - despite the country's love affair with big cars.

Mr Harrison added: "We're very pleased with this award. We were wondering how a small car like this would go down in the States. It's so different to anything the Americans are used to, but the good thing is that it has proven very popular."

The Mini, which first appeared in the UK in 1959, was made available in America for around two years in the late 60s before being withdrawn from sale.

The manufacturing minister, Alan Johnson, said: "This is a huge success for the workers of Cowley, who have in recent years suffered much uncertainty.

"They have risen to the challenge of innovating and retraining to develop a world-class product that has proven itself on the international stage."