When Muammar Gaddafi designed his own supercar
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09.01.12 – 789 58912:48Опубликовано 9 августа 2024, 15:00
What happens when a crazed dictator designs a supercar? Things get weird. Then again, weird was normal for Col. Muammar Gaddafi of Libya.
In the late 1990s, after ruling Libya in northern Africa for 30 years, Gaddafi decided to design his own car to kickstart the country’s automotive industry. His regime worked with an Italian manufacturer to build two prototypes, which he proudly unveiled at a political conference in 1999 to a lot of confused reporters.
It was called “The Rocket of the State of the Masses,” it sure looked like it was designed by someone who’d never seen a car before, and it was promoted by Gaddafi’s people as the safest and most advanced supercar in the world… despite being powered by a 230-horsepower transverse V6 and having gone through zero crash testing.
Production was supposed to begin in Tripoli the following year, then years went by with no updates. Perhaps frustrated with the lack of attention, Gaddafi decided to reveal the Rocket AGAIN in 2009 and pretend like that first round never happened. Same car, same promises, and same reaction from the public: crickets.
Just two years later, Gaddafi was killed by revolutionaries during the Libyan Civil War. In the chaos, the four prototype Rockets vanished without a trace… until 2017, when one was spotted parked on a side street in Tripoli.
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In the late 1990s, after ruling Libya in northern Africa for 30 years, Gaddafi decided to design his own car to kickstart the country’s automotive industry. His regime worked with an Italian manufacturer to build two prototypes, which he proudly unveiled at a political conference in 1999 to a lot of confused reporters.
It was called “The Rocket of the State of the Masses,” it sure looked like it was designed by someone who’d never seen a car before, and it was promoted by Gaddafi’s people as the safest and most advanced supercar in the world… despite being powered by a 230-horsepower transverse V6 and having gone through zero crash testing.
Production was supposed to begin in Tripoli the following year, then years went by with no updates. Perhaps frustrated with the lack of attention, Gaddafi decided to reveal the Rocket AGAIN in 2009 and pretend like that first round never happened. Same car, same promises, and same reaction from the public: crickets.
Just two years later, Gaddafi was killed by revolutionaries during the Libyan Civil War. In the chaos, the four prototype Rockets vanished without a trace… until 2017, when one was spotted parked on a side street in Tripoli.
Produced by → instagram.com/joeyrassool
Hosted by → instagram.com/kylecheromcha
The Drive is the chronicle of car culture. We write stories you actually want to read. → thedrive.com
FOLLOW US!
Instagram → instagram.com/thedrive
Facebook → facebook.com/thedrive
TikTok → tiktok.com/@thedrive_official
X → x.com/thedrive
Threads → threads.net/@thedrive
WORK WITH US → youtube@thedrive.com
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