To the Popemobile!

He’s here. The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has landed in America. But he can’t behave like any other tourist and rent a Mustang, His Holiness needs a special set of wheels. He needs a Popemobile.

This one is based on a Mercedes-Benz ML-Class SUV -- the perfect diplomatic solution, as it’s a German marque (the pontiff is German, known formerly as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) but this model is manufactured in the USA. The glass is, of course, bulletproof, maybe even bomb-proof as well.

The cross and the three-pointed star have a connection that goes back 75 years. Mercedes has built many other Popemobiles, including one based on the boxy G-Wagen SUV with the shower-cubicle-on-wheels appendage. It’s now on display in the M-B museum in Stuttgart. However, the papal limousine fleet has also consisted of several stylish Landaulets from the ’60s.

The Brits made two Vatican vehicles for Pope John Paul II (who disliked the term ‘Popemobile’ because he felt it was undignified), based on Range Rovers. They were said to weigh 24 tons each (lots of armour plating) and one fetched the equivalent of $70,500 at an auction about 18 months ago. There are also Canadian, Mexican and Filipino Popemobiles.

Stateside, Pope Paul VI was transported during his 1965 U.S. visit in a specially built Lehmann-Peterson limo with an unusual provenance. Previously a Ford test vehicle, it was involved in a bad crash. The Chicago coachbuilders took it, rebuilt it and added an elevated rear seat that could raise 12 inches by the pull of a hand crank. Floodlights and a public address system also went in. LBJ and many astronauts used the car subsequently.

Considering that the Vatican is the world’s first (and so far only) carbon-neutral state, let’s hope Pope Benedict XVI is not led into temptation to don a baseball cap and a pair of dark glasses, and go rent a Mustang. Naturally, we’ll forgive him if he does.

Want more? See Popemobiles through the years photo gallery.

-- Colin Ryan