New Popemobile
The Holy See now rolls electrically
Pope Francis is going all-electric with his papamobile. Shortly before his 88th birthday, the head of 1.4 billion Catholics took delivery of a new vehicle in the Vatican: a custom-built Mercedes-Benz based on the electric G-Class.
Francis is one of the first heads of state to say goodbye to the combustion engine in this way.
The Vatican also wants to be the first country in the world to have only electric cars in its fleet by 2030. The Pope also never tires of emphasizing the importance of the environment and warning against climate change. Although the German car industry has considerable problems with electric cars, another prominent company is also doing business with the Papal States: VW delivered 40 CO2-neutral vehicles there this year.
Once a week across St. Peter's Square
Francis normally drives around St. Peter's Square once a week in the papamobile - a neologism made up of papa (Italian for pope) and automobile - to show himself to the faithful. However, the papamobiles are also used when the pontiff travels abroad. The term was popularized by the Polish Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005 and was not deterred from such trips even after an assassination attempt.
The all-electric model is a further development of the G580 electric off-road vehicle. With its custom-made gearbox, it can also travel long distances at walking pace. The Pope sits practically at the back of the loading area: on a raised chair that can be turned. This allows him to point and wave in all directions. There is a hardtop for bad weather.
Unlike its predecessor: Francis also in a small car
The basic color is a papal pearl white, the floor is red. In addition, an entry aid has been produced for the elderly Francis, who now manages almost all appointments in a wheelchair due to problems with his knees and hips. Both sides are keeping quiet about the costs. It certainly wasn't cheap: the basic model of the electric all-terrain vehicle is available from around 140,000 euros upwards.
This puts Francis in a price bracket that is unusual for him: unlike most of his predecessors in recent times, he is not interested in luxury limousines. On the contrary: the native Argentinean has also been chauffeured around in a 30-year-old second-hand Renault 4, for example - but in pearl white. When he had to go to hospital again last year, he arrived in a small Fiat.
First Pope Mercedes as early as 1930
In contrast, the Pope's cars were significantly larger in earlier decades. Mercedes-Benz first produced a limousine for the Vatican in 1930. The "Nürburg 460" of the then Pope Pius XI even had an upholstered throne chair covered in silk brocade. Like other heads of state, his successors were also chauffeured in luxury cars. In the 1980s, John Paul II used a papamobile for the first time. Since then, there have been several dozen models from various manufacturers.
SCV1 - or: "If Christ could see it..."
It is not known exactly how many cars the Vatican has in its fleet. With an area of just 0.44 square kilometers, the Papal States is the smallest country in the world - about the size of Chicago's cemetery. The Vatican also has no public transport - but it does have its own train station, albeit one that is rarely used.
Incidentally, the license plate of the Pope's cars is almost always the same: SCV 1, the letters standing for "Status Civitatis Vaticanae" (Vatican State), the "1" for the head of state. However, some people in Rome also read the abbreviation differently: "Se Cristo vedesse ...". In German: "If Christ saw this ..."
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