Libyan leader (ex-leader?) Muammar Qaddafi apparently had some unusual items in his personal collection. Rebel forces stormed his compound this week, and we now know he had a scrapbook dedicated to former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, lots of weapons and, oddly, a doorless, all-electric Fiat 500.
According to Corriere Della Sera (Google translated version), Qaddafi had “many” electric cars, and the Fiat 500 was converted to battery power in 2009 by Castagna of Milan, Italy. Aside from the powertrain swap – giving the 500 a 34 kW electric motor with two “mammoth” batteries that offer a range of 260 km (160 miles) – the “mysterious client” who ordered the car demanded:
“Interior cream with green trim, sandy-colored soft top, green and gold bodywork. … on the left upright, a back-lit image of the Lion of the Desert, on the A-pillar on the right, a circle with the symbolic representation of the Libyan society. On the nose, instead of the Fiat brand, a logo with the black silhouette of Africa, with Libya highlighted in green [Note: this translation has been slightly edited].
Sounds intense, so it must have given the anti-Qaddafi forces quite a thrill to drag the 100,000-euro custom ($144,000 USD) through the streets as a spoil of war. Corriere Della Sera hints that this particular car might live a nice second life – once it’s repainted.
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