Gaddafi, the former ruler of Libya, had an interest in cars, and in particular, electric cars. As the rebels overtook his deserted compound in Tripoli, they found many electric vehicles including a custom built, pure electric Fiat 500. The one-off electric vehicle was created by Castagna Milano, an Italian coachbuilder. The vehicle was ordered in 2009, and Castagna Milano was unaware of the identity of the customer. The car was ordered by a member of the Gaddafi family as a gift.

After the car was delivered to Libya via France, the client paid in full. Castagna Milano did receive a few calls from Gadaffi’s German mechanic asking for advice on servicing and maintaining the Fiat 500 electric. The Italian company had asked for a photo of the driver in the car on multiple occasions but nothing was sent through.

After the car was siezed in Tripoli, the Fiat 500 Electric was photographed as it was pushed out of the compound by rebels and paraded through the streets.

This could be bad press for Fiat, especially as they are planning to bring a mass produced version of the Fiat 500 Electric to the US in the 2013 model year. Luckily Fiat had no direct involvement with creating this custom Fiat 500 Electric.

Specs on the one-off Fiat 500 Electric are quire impressive.  Powered by 2 massive electric batteries, the Fiat 500 Electric has a range of 160 miles with a top speed of 99 MPH. It will be interesting to see if the production version of the Fiat 500 Electric will have similar specs – I’m guessing it won’t, but it also won’t cost the same $135000!