Designed and constructed by Italian company Tesco SpA with specifications from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi....The 1999 and 2009 Saroukh el-Jamahiriya or in English "Rocket of the State of the Masses"

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Vwampage@reddit

They really said give me a minivan with rizz

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The_Nabisco_Thing@reddit (OP)

Say what you will about Gaddafi... but the man did have rizz

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oppositelock27@reddit

"This car is too round, it needs to be pointy."

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The_Nabisco_Thing@reddit (OP)

Apparently the points were filled with rubber and the car was supposed to "bounce" away from a collision... It's some real Loony Tunes nonsense lol!

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chupacadabradoo@reddit

Yah I was wondering if those were some kind of cattle plow for situations where an angry mob gathered around. Like to make it somehow aerodynamic but for people or objects instead of air.

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Frisinator@reddit

I bet that was their fearless leader’s ideas.

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DemonsSouls1@reddit

It's like those rubber protrusions on older vehicles.

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bonerJR@reddit

2009 model is kinda sick actually. Yeah it's not super pretty but it's got some neat design and the interior isn't too bad.

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resi42@reddit

I honestly don't hate it. Looks different than any other boring sedans on the road. Probably spacious too and easy to access.

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The_Nabisco_Thing@reddit (OP)

I would drive it for sure! Its weird but I definitely don't hate it!

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bonerJR@reddit

Thanks for continuing your posting streak!

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Only_One_Kenobi@reddit

This clearly inspired the Lancia designers...

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tractorcrusher@reddit

“-so people have no choice but to take me seriously”

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DeltaGammaVegaRho@reddit

„Round isn’t scary, pointy is scary!“ - front or back? „Did I stutter! Everywhere!“

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Armybob112@reddit

But not the good kind of stretched, my guy literally just stretched the image.

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Having worked in both agency and in-house (advertising/marketing) on the creative/art-side- there have been times that I would have GLADLY taken an actual dictator over some of the clients/stakeholders.

It would be wild if there was hidden audio/video or actual transcripts from the entire brief-to-proof of concept.

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Whole-Debate-9547@reddit

I like this a lot.

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hordak666@reddit

we have alfa romeo at home

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saliczar@reddit

Pic 3 looks like the Grinch.

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surgicalhoopstrike@reddit

Thank fuck Quaddafi stuck to dictatoring.

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The_Nabisco_Thing@reddit (OP)

I bet he wished he stuck to car design though.... his demise was BRUTAL!

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surgicalhoopstrike@reddit

His own citizens fucked him UP, before he died.

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Matra_Murena@reddit

It looks like it has a Busso V6 so at the every least it has a pretty great engine

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The_Nabisco_Thing@reddit (OP)

They are hideous and probably drive like garbage since they were only built for propaganda purposes... but I would totally drive these abominations!

The white 2009 version was last seen in 2023 in pretty sad shape.. the whereabouts of the others are unknown.

The last 4 photos are the 1999 version of Saroukh el-Jamahiriya

Here's a great article with lots of info: https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2023/08/the-colonels-car-gaddafis-bizarre.html

Here's a couple of videos from the 2009 unveiling:

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/in-a-week-of-events-designed-to-commemorate-moamer-news-footage/90300364

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ST4VpftwGWE

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Awesam@reddit

Ululation intensifies

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The_Nabisco_Thing@reddit (OP)

That soundtrack is a intense lol!

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LightningFerret04@reddit

If you squint your eyes at the last photo it almost looks like a regular car

Somehow I don’t hate the sliding doors, they remind me of the Mazda 5

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the_jeby@reddit

That engine reminds me of the V6 Busso in Lancia applications 😳😳😳

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elmontyenBCN@reddit

Thanks OP. I have always been interested in these cars and there are some images here that I had never seen before.

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The_Nabisco_Thing@reddit (OP)

No prob! Me too... the more obscure the better! Ive had some of these images saved on my laptop since 2010.. and just found out this week that the white car survived....

A trick I learned when searching for photos is to try searching in the native tongue.. Instead of searching for Saroukh el-Jamahiriya or Libyan Rocket Car... I searched صاروخ الجماهيرية and it turned up a ton of results I never would have seen!

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heilhortler420@reddit

"Tesco everyday value executive car"

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crucible@reddit

design of both iterations of ‘The Rocket’ was contracted out to the Italian company Tesco SpA, which in 1999 received $2.85 million to come up with its design

It would only have cost $1.85 million with a Clubcard

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