Ignoring the politics surrounding the death of Gaddafi it turns out he had a go at car design.
In a short piece in the paper it was briefly mentioned that he designed what he thought would be the worlds safest car so I had to go and find some more details.
Good old google led me to this story in the Telegraph from 2009.
"HIS country may be better known for producing the oil burned in automobiles, but to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his military coup, Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi has designed a 'rocket car'.
An Italian engineering company revealed Gaddafi ordered an ultra-safe car as sleek as a rocket to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 coup that brought him to power, FoxNews reports.
The "Libyan Rocket", as the prototype is called, is described as an "elegant sedan" 5.1m, more than 1.8m wide, with a 3-litre, V-6 gasoline engine.
According to the BBC, it also has airbags, an unspecified 'electronic defence system', and a collapsible bumper.
In an added bonus, it can go hundreds of miles on a flat tire, a feature that could come in handy while driving in the vast Libyan desert. Other safety features include a device to cut off the fuel supply to avoid a fire in case of accident.
Domenico Morali, CEO of Tesco TS SpA, an automotive design company based in Turin, Italy, said Gaddafi joined in discussions about the car's styling and asked for an original car using Libyan materials including marble, leather and fabric.
The car was unveiled earlier this week in Tripoli at the end of an African Union summit.
"The first thing (Gaddafi wanted) was safety in how you drive," Morali said in a telephone interview. "The second was developing the automotive sector in Libya."
According to the BBC, construction of a factory to produce the car will begin next month in the nation's capital, Tripoli."
In the article I read he assembled the worlds press, showed them the car then the thing wouldnt start. I get the feeling the cars will never hit the streets and it may be a bit tastless to say I wonder if the tryes will be ditch finders ;D.
So what does a mad mans car look like?
Or maybe you fancy the sports version?
Dave
In a short piece in the paper it was briefly mentioned that he designed what he thought would be the worlds safest car so I had to go and find some more details.
Good old google led me to this story in the Telegraph from 2009.
"HIS country may be better known for producing the oil burned in automobiles, but to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his military coup, Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi has designed a 'rocket car'.
An Italian engineering company revealed Gaddafi ordered an ultra-safe car as sleek as a rocket to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 coup that brought him to power, FoxNews reports.
The "Libyan Rocket", as the prototype is called, is described as an "elegant sedan" 5.1m, more than 1.8m wide, with a 3-litre, V-6 gasoline engine.
According to the BBC, it also has airbags, an unspecified 'electronic defence system', and a collapsible bumper.
In an added bonus, it can go hundreds of miles on a flat tire, a feature that could come in handy while driving in the vast Libyan desert. Other safety features include a device to cut off the fuel supply to avoid a fire in case of accident.
Domenico Morali, CEO of Tesco TS SpA, an automotive design company based in Turin, Italy, said Gaddafi joined in discussions about the car's styling and asked for an original car using Libyan materials including marble, leather and fabric.
The car was unveiled earlier this week in Tripoli at the end of an African Union summit.
"The first thing (Gaddafi wanted) was safety in how you drive," Morali said in a telephone interview. "The second was developing the automotive sector in Libya."
According to the BBC, construction of a factory to produce the car will begin next month in the nation's capital, Tripoli."
In the article I read he assembled the worlds press, showed them the car then the thing wouldnt start. I get the feeling the cars will never hit the streets and it may be a bit tastless to say I wonder if the tryes will be ditch finders ;D.
So what does a mad mans car look like?
Or maybe you fancy the sports version?
Dave
