I did a bit of internet research, which suggested that the production code is numeric whereas the last 7 digits of the VIN is in alphanumeric form.
So, I think I only got the last 7 digits of the VIN which is like the unique vehicle serial number.
I also saw a few website docs around which tell you how to decode your VIN (eg
Decoding your MINI's VIN. ) so I had a go at constructing the rest of my VIN. I used the website references plus had a look at the structure of a few 2007 VINs which seemed to vary a bit from the systems previously documented - ie they now seem to use more zeros - in digit places 8 and 10 - ??? Basically, the system appears to be:
Digit place
1 - country of manufacture - W for Germany (even though it is England?)
2 - make - M for MINI
3 - W - I am not really sure what this stands for
4 & 5 - model and body type eg RF for cooper convertible or RC for cooper hard top
6 - 1 for diesel or 3 for gasoline
7 - 1 for LH drive, 2 for RH drive and 3 for US market
8 - as noted above, this seems to be a 0 (zero) in Australia for 2007 but previously has been a 4 for car <2004 or 5 for some 2005 models
9 - a checking digit from 0-9 or X - I just tried them all out to seem which one worked in the cargo id.
10 - again, this seems to be a 0 (zero) this year but previously seemed to reflect the year of build.
11-17 - 7 digit "serial" number (alphanumeric) for your car
Anyway, this seemed to work