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Mercedes-Benz have enjoyed a long relationship with Vatican, spanning more than eighty years. During this time they have supplied the Vatican with motor cars for all occasions, most notably the ‘Popemobile’ which is used for overseas visits. Pope Benedict XVI is due to make a three-day visit next September and inn preparation for this, Mercedes have designed a new addition to the Vatican’s garage.

The Popemobile is recognisable all over the world because of its raised glass roof. The Popemobile as we know it was first seen publicly in the 1980s when Pope John Paul II requested that the vehicle be modified to enable him to have greater visibility over the followers coming out to see him, as well as giving them greater visibility to him.

To enable this, the Pope’s seat was raised quite substantially, so too was the roof. The roof was replace with a see through material, allowing visibility in and out of the vehicle. There are very few specific details about the new Popemobile for the sake of security. However, as standard we can expect that there will be substantial amounts of armour plating, reinforced glass and many other reinforcements giving the highest level of protection.

The latest Popemobile is reported to run on a 60 BHP hybrid engine along with a lithium battery allowing in excess of 18 miles of electricity only range. Although the Pope is an advocate for green alternatives, it would not be feasible to have a completely green Popemobile as this would pose a massive security threat. In the event of an emergency, the option needs to be there for a quick getaway. Running purely on battery power would not allow this. All of the modifications needed to make the vehicle secure enough to carry the pope have bumped the weight up to five tonnes.

More and more high profile figures are opting for greener alternative methods of transport and hopefully this will be replicated in everyday travel. President Obama is reportedly seeking a greener way to power his Cadillac, ‘The Beast’. As the nickname suggests, this vehicle is huge and would require rather a lot of lithium batteries to move it along!

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