Muammar el-Qaddafi has created quite an uproar in Tripoli, and Libyan rebels are retaliating and getting him where it hurts – his garage. Rebel forces bombarded his seized compound this week, and few of them were spotted making off with a tricked-out Fiat 500.
The emerald green and gold Fiat 500 looks something like an Egyptian scarab beetle – appropriate considering Tripoli’s desert-y surroundings. But that’s not the only green thing about this tricked out Fiat. Italian publication, Corriere Della Sera, reports the hatchback was based on the Euro-spec 500 Cabrio, and fitted with a 34kw electric motor, capable of driving 161 miles on a single charge. Automobilemag.com
Colonel Qaddafi indicated his interest in developing passenger cars within Libya in 2009, when he showed his so-called rocket car, a vehicle that ministers claimed was the safest car in the world. No reports exist to confirm whether the vehicle entered production.
As reported by The Times in May, the Libyan Investment Authority holds a two percent stake in Fiat SpA. Colonel Qaddafi’s regime has done business with the Italian conglomerate for decades. It is not known whether the pictured 500 was purchased by or gifted to the regime. The New York Times
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