1991 Rolls Royce 4 Dr Silver Spur on 2040-cars

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The cars of notorious dictators

It's good to be the king, at least until your people have had enough of you. Last week, we brought you famous presidential cars. This week, we're going to the opposite end of the political spectrum, looking at what history's mad men drove throughout their repressive and violent regimes. These dictators were absolutely powerful, and absolutely corrupt. More nightmares for their people than rulers, their iron-fisted control gave them the ability to satisfy any wild desire with nearly limitless funds. While they all splurged on luxury goods, cars were a particular passion of many dictators. Cars make a powerful statement to the public about wealth, status and control. It's how you are presented at ground level to your adoring masses or mortal enemies. A custom luxury car with plenty of armor plating reinforced the specialness and "otherness" of the ruler to friend and foe alike. Muammar Gaddafi, Libya, 1969 - 2011 Lybia's President for Life Muammar Gaddafi fancied himself not just a car enthusiast, but a car designer for the masses as well. He supposedly designed a car called the "Saroukh el-Jamahiriya" or Libyan Rocket. It had a 230-horsepower V6 and the nose and tail of a rocket. He was trying to produce a safer car. What makes it safe car? Tough to say. Not a lot was ever released it. Apparently the el-Jamahiriya did come with airbags and collapsible fenders in case of a collision. A spokesperson said "The invention of the safest car in the world is proof that the Libyan revolution is built on the happiness of man." We'll just have to take his word for it. When he wasn't designing his own cars, Gaddafi was ordering up custom rides, large and small. Besides a heavily armored BMW 7 Series and a Mercedes S-Class stretch limo, Gaddafi had this custom Fiat built at a cost of $260,000. The gold in the trim is real gold (of course) and comes with some touches that are pure Gaddafi. For instance, the Fiat badge was replaced with an outline of the continent of Africa, with Libya cut out in green. Rebels seized the Fiat and Gaddafi's other trappings of power after putting an end to Gaddafi's 42 years in control. Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, Haiti, 1971 - 1986 Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier was the second-generation dictator of Hati from 1971 to 1986. He made life hell for his people for 15 long years, starting when his father died when he was just 19 years old. Imagine if Justin Beiber was given a tiny island nation to run.

Rolls-Royce bringing art deco-inspired cars to Paris, celebrates with posters

Rolls-Royce announced that it will be bringing some "art-deco inspired" cars to the 2012 Paris Motor Show, and while we really have no clue what that means just yet, we're sure the cars are going to be very expensive.
The images show what appears to be a stylized Rolls-Royce Phantom or Ghost in an artistic rendering that would look at home in South Beach. Like the cars, Rolls-Royce is going all out with the launch of these special cars with an invitation-only introduction including a champagne reception.
We only have to wait until next week to see what features and styling changes Rolls-Royce has in store for these new bespoke models, but for now, enjoy this trio of art deco goodness and check out the press release below.

Rolls-Royce spotted testing even sportier Wraith

A Rolls-Royce is not what you'd typically consider to be "sporty." Luxurious. Stately. Even powerful, packed as they are with twelve-cylinder engines displacing in excess of six and a half liters. The Wraith set out to change that with a sportier package, more rakish profile and an even more potent version of the Ghost's 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 to make it the fastest and most powerful Rolls-Royce ever made. But now it seems Goodwood is working on an even more aggressive version.
Spotted undergoing testing in parent company BMW's home country of Germany, this particular Wraith might strike you as the same one we've already seen, save for a few telltale details. It may be wearing the same rolling stock as the existing model, with what look like the same tailpipes protruding ever so elegantly around back, but at the bottom of the front bumper and atop the rear trunklid you'll notice more assertive spoilers added on.
To what end, we cannot be certain, but our spotters on the ground seem to think this is a prototype for a more extreme version of the Wraith - possibly inspired by the attention garnered by the Bentley Continental GT3-R. Could we be looking at a Wraith V-Specification like we saw with the Ghost? We'll have to wait to find out for sure, but in the meantime you can scope out the virtually undisguised prototype in the gallery of high-resolution spy shots above.