Catholic? Guess Where Your $$$ is going…
Apparently the Vatican and Mercedes have teamed up to create an “all-new” car for the Pope. 2 years of development time was spent on developing a “holier-than-thou” paint job called “Vatican Mystic White”. This is reportedly a couple of shades brighter than “Ghostly Anti-Devil White” available on most non-Popemobile Mercedes.
A base G-class starts at 72,000 euros for the cabriolet. But given that 2 years of development and god knows how many gallons of wasted paint and bullet-proof steel went into this SUV, the cost most likely soared past an un-Godly $250,000. Looks like Catholics will need to add a few more dollars to that offering plate this season.
December 04, 2007
Stuttgart/Rome – In future, Pope Benedict XVI will present himself to the
40,000 or so pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square in a shining white, open-top Mer-
cedes-Benz G-Class during his public audiences on Wednesdays. The new
“Popemobile” was created over a two-year development period in close con-
sultation with the Vatican, and has now been personally handed over to the
Holy Father.
This open official car, which the Head of the Catholic Church requested for use
during fine weather, was developed by Mercedes-Benz on the basis of the G 500.
It is equipped with a folding windscreen and hand-rails, and like its predecessors
it is painted in the Vatican mystic white finish. The interior is likewise white, and
is accessed via steps lined in red at the rear. The Pope holds his audiences in a
standing position, so that he is easily visible to all his flock.
The Holy Father is continuing a long tradition with the new Popemobile from
Mercedes-Benz. Pope Pius XI was the first to receive a Mercedes-Benz as an offi-
cial car in 1930 – a Nürburg 460 Pullman limousine. Over the following decades
Mercedes-Benz regularly provided the Vatican with automobiles which had been
specially converted for the use of the Holy Father.
Today the Pope has several Mercedes-Benz cars at his disposal. In addition to the
new G 500 Cabriolet, the fleet currently includes M and S-Class models with special protection.
Source: Mercedes-Benz