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Pope Francis has received a gift: a new Mercedes-Benz that he can use while he travels to meet devotees the world around. But what is the new Popemobile?
From its pearly white colour to a grab bar, it has all the features that the Pope will require to make rounds while meeting the public.
What are the features of the new popemobile?
The vehicle, a customised version of the German company’s G-Class mid-size luxury SUV, features an elevated seat for Francis, allowing crowds a better view of the pope.
It’s also an electric vehicle, which makes it environmentally-friendly.
It comes in white, the traditional papal colour, and features heating in the papal seat and a grab bar, which the pope can use for balance when standing in the vehicle.
“Every detail is perfection,” Sten Ola Kallenius, board chair and CEO of the Mercedes-Benz Group, told Reuters. It took “hundreds of hours of craftsmanship … to build a one-of-a-kind popemobile,” he said.
When will the vehicle launch?
The Vatican has not disclosed when the new popemobile will be in use and declined to share details about its security features. Further, Mercedes officials also declined to say how much the vehicle had cost.
Francis, who has been pope since March 2013, has largely shunned the use of bulletproof vehicles, preferring to be as close to people as possible.
Francis has also stressed the importance of environmental issues throughout his papacy. Mercedes officials called the new vehicle the first all-electric popemobile, but Francis has also used electric cars on some of his foreign trips.
According to CBS News, the first “official” popemobile was a custom Mercedes-Benz Nurburg 460 Pullman gifted to Pope Pius XI in 1930, featuring silk carpets and embossed doves in the interior. Later popemobiles included a 600 Pullman Landaulet and 300 SEL for Pope John XXIII, a modified G-Class for Pope John Paul II, and the previous popemobile, a Mercedes-Benz M-Class, used by both Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
With inputs from Reuters
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