5. Benito Mussolini, Italy
Hitler’s friend and fellow fascist leader, Benito Mussolini was a car guy, too. During his reign of power, he invested a lot of government funds into secret “loans” to racing teams and his favorite brands. For example, The Duce liked Alfa Romeos and wanted to see them race, so he founded racing enterprises, driver’s salaries and other expenses.
For his personal use, he commissioned the beautiful Lancia Astura, Italy’s most expensive car at that time. Mussolini always bought the latest Alfa Romeo, red in color, for his mistresses. In fact, that Alfa Romeo was the reason the partisans caught and killed him in 1945. When Allied forces invaded Italy and started liberating it from fascist forces, Benito Mussolini tried to cross the Swiss border. He was dressed as a common soldier riding in a truck, but his favorite mistress, Clara Petacci followed him in her red Alfa Romeo 6C.
Soldiers stopped the convoy and recognized the red Alfa. They found Mussolini hiding as an ordinary soldier. The next day, they shot both him and his mistress, but that Alfa Romeo 6C is still around today.