By now the final cheese-stained burger carton will just have been cleared from the grass around Silverstone after tens of thousands of Mini owners descended for a massive party thrown by the Germans.

Just in case the MINI marketing machine has somehow passed you by over the last couple of months, MINI United was the coming together of Mini and MINI fans to celebrate the fact that half a century has passed since the car Sir Issigonis sketched onto the back of an envelope first appeared in production form.

The RSVPs flew back to BMW's Munich base from all over the world, culminating in tens of thousands driving to Silverstone in their beloved cars, each armed with as much cash as enthusiasm; one MINI exec told us that on the Friday alone - the 'quiet' day - over £100,000 was spent on t-shirts and things. And on Saturday around 20,000 individuals flooded in, each with an insatiable appetite for all things small, and each willing to pay big for it; six quid for a burger. Six quid!

Anyway, as one-marque events go (well, two, technically) MINI United was about as sprawling as you can imagine. The daytime was dominated by Minis old and new, stock and custom, resplendent and repugnant, all lined up with their chirpy owners vying for five minutes of fame. Among them was Floriano from Germany, who brought along his fully pimped 215bhp Cooper S and a notable posse from his MINI club, Team Freak, as well as the girlfriend he met at one of their gatherings. She too has a custom MINI, though obviously it's not as good as his.

But star of the DIY MINI posse was undoubtedly the milky monstrosity that spilled into Silverstone from Greece. Stathis Ststhakis, part owner of Design Perfection tuning, brought along a pig-nosed, Lambo-doored Cooper S running 240bhp and boasting the loudest stereo you've ever heard. "What's next?" we enquired. Well, next is a 500bhp beast with four-wheel drive. We'll believe that when we see it.

Further on there were the rather more lonely figures occupying the 'through the years' section (probably not its official name), which basically allowed one parking space per year from 1959 all the way to 2009 for an appropriately aged Mini. Occupying a spot around the early '90s was 50-year-old Jenny Greere, a sales assistant from Brighton who'd brought her immaculate 1993 maroon Mini Convertible. Jenny has an infectious and incisive knowledge of the ins and outs of her car, though it seems she and the owners of other more discreet cars were heavily outnumbered by the neo-pimping massive; a neon green, wild animal liveried MINI Clubman seemed constantly circled by open-jawed punters, for example.

Activities included free go-karting (during which yours truly was yellow flagged and sent to the pit lane temporarily for overtaking 'too aggressively' - it wasn't my fault the Scandinavians were too slow), stunt shows, 'improve your skills' training, MINI Challenge racing, and the chance to take your own MINI around the track. Sadly the orange Audi TTS I'd very conspicuously taken along wasn't allowed. Killjoys.

And, of course, it was all topped off by Paul Weller, who was joined onstage by two backlit new MINIs - two of the three special editions MINI unveiled at the festival, no less. He said "happy birthday MINI" towards the end of his set. Job done. Nice party.

Mark Nichol - 26 May 2009