This isn’t the first time there’s been a three-pointed star on the holiest of vehicles. Mercedes has long supplied cars for the Pope, and the Vatican. While the pontiff has had various “Popemobiles” over the years, some type of G-Wagen has been in the fleet for over four decades. Now, though, Pope Francis will be rocking the new electric G-Class. It’s unlikely we’ll see His Holiness doing tank turns in St. Peter’s Square, but it’s cool to know he could if he wanted to.
The new Popemobile is based on the Mercedes G580 with EQ Technology (who at Mercedes thought that was a good name?), so it has four electric motors, one for each wheel. In the normal electric G580, they make 579 horsepower and 859 lb-ft of torque, but Mercedes claims that the Pope’s was developed in coordination with The Vatican for his signature low-speed cruising. So it might make less power or maybe just has some sort of parade mode. Pope Francis’ second encyclical is “Laudato Si,” which criticizes the degradation of our environment and our negative effect on global warming. So the decision to swap a regular G-Class to an electric one is understandable.
Visually, this new Popemobile looks like the old G-Class Cabriolet, so it isn’t exactly pretty. But, then again, it isn’t meant to be. That pickup truck-style bed behind the B-pillar isn’t for hauling, though. Instead, it has a massive swiveling seat where Pope Francis will ride. Behind him are two small jump seats, likely for members of the Swiss Guard to sit. It also comes with a separate hardtop roof that can be put in place if it’s raining.
This project was developed jointly between the production team in Graz, Austria—where all G-Classes are built—Mercedes of Italy, and The Vatican. Executives and engineers involved in the project were invited to The Vatican to deliver the new Popemobile in person outside of St. Peter’s Basilica, where the teams met Pope Francis in private.
One of Pope Francis’ nicknames is “The People’s Pope.” Now maybe it’s just me but I think what the people really want is to see him in the back of this new Popemobile as it rips off tank turns on some Italian off-road trails.
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