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The Catholic church and the world beyond was saddened by the recent death of Pope Francis at the age of 88.
Pope Francis (pictured) travelled widely during his 12 years as Bishop of Rome, and used a wide variety of vehicles to do so. In this story we're going to look at the succession of custom-built machinery of varying sizes and suitability. In this story we explain the evolution of this somewhat unique class of vehcile, and select the most notable to wear the Pope’s personalised number plate, SCV 1.
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Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman (1965)
This Mercedes 600 Pullman was the start of bespoke cars for the Pope. Before, he’d used several saloons from the German manufacturer, but this Pullman Landaulet for Paul VI (who reigned from 1963 to 1978) came with extended rear doors for easier entry and exit for the pontiff when in full robes. It also featured a large single, central rear seat so he could see the crowds. This necessitated the folding rear roof being raised by 70mm to give sufficient headroom.
As with this car, the vast majority of Papal number plates start with SCV – this stands for Stato della Citta del Vaticano – Vatican City.
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Toyota Land Cruiser (1975)
This is the car that coined the phrase ‘Popemobile’ and was built to be used by Paul VI for the church’s 1975 Jubilee. Toyota’s Land Cruiser was chosen because its body was easy to convert for ceremonial duties. Pope John Paul I shunned it in favour of other transport, but his successor was quick to embrace the new transport as did not like the traditional sedan chair carried by official bearers.
This car was used sporadically for the following few years.
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Fiat Campagnola (1981)
The humble Fiat Panda-based Campagnola may have chimed with the Pope’s desire to be a man of the people, but it offered John Paul II (1978-2005) little protection from an assassination attempt in 1981 that took place in St Peter’s Square, in Rome.
Based on a very utilitarian Italian Army off-roader, the all-wheel drive Campagnola came with a railing for the Pope to hold on to during processions, but there was little other protection and the Pope was very nearly killed. The Fiat was retired immediately after the shooting.
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Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen (1981)
Mercedes came up with its 230 G-based Popemobile in late 1980, yet it wasn’t in use until after the attempted assassination of John Paul II in 1981. It was designed so the rear cupola could be removed, but it never was due to security concerns. The rear chair for the Pope sat 40cm above the floor, which required a large glass area.
In turn, this demanded a greatly upgraded air conditioning system so the pontiff didn’t bake in hot weather. Unusually, Mercedes only loaned this car to the Vatican initially and only formally gifted it to the Pope in 1982.
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Land Rover Santana (1982)
With a new focus of safety and security, the next Popemobile needed something much sturdier as a base to cope with the extra weight of bullet-proof glass and safety kit. Although this one looks like a Land Rover Defender, it’s actually a Santana. Built under licence from the British firm in Spain, it went into service in 1982 complete with armoured bodywork and glass and the large rear canopy that was to become a Popemobile signature style.
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SEAT Papamobil (1982)
When John Paul II visited Spain in 1982, SEAT came up with its affectionately names Papamobil. Created from a Marbella, which was a licence-built Fiat Panda, the Papamobil was only ever used once to carry the Pope to a congregation at Camp Nou, the home of FC Barcelona. With no armour-plating or bullet shielding, the cut-down SEAT was quickly retired to the Vatican’s very own motor museum.
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Range Rover (1982)
Shortly after the attempt on Pope John Paul II’s life, he was due to visit Britain, in 1982. Heightened security awareness required the first bullet-proof Popemobile and what better vehicle to base it on than a Range Rover? Two of these cars were ordered, reputedly at a cost of £64,000 each at the time, and they were designed by British firm Ogle that had pioneered safety glass in its designs in the 1960s.
One of the Range Rovers was used for official duties in Scotland before being delivered to the Vatican where it remains, while the other was sold off and is now in a museum in Las Vegas. While used on the UK visit, both cars retained their British registrations rather than the usual ‘SCV ’ plate attached to the Pope’s ceremonial transport.
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Leyland Constructor 6 (1982)
The heaviest Popemobile title goes to the 24,000 kg Leyland Constructor used for the pontiff’s visit to the UK in 1982. When he wasn’t in one of his Range Rovers, the Pope was transported in one of two specially converted trucks that had been chosen for their strength and ability to cross rough ground if required to get His Holiness to safety. Both armoured trucks were completed within six weeks and, like the Range Rovers, were designed by Ogle.
One of them was later used for Papal visits to Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia in 1988-89. The truck pictured here was sold at auction in 2006 for £37,000 (around US$56,000 at the time).
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Lancia Thesis Giubileo (1999)
Strictly speaking, this stretched landaulet Lancia Thesis is less a Popemobile and more an official limousine. But it’s interesting as this was essentially a prototype preview vehicle, given to Pope John Paul II in 1999 to celebrate the Catholic church’s Great Jubilee event to be held across the year 2000. It was a development of the Dialogos concept car, unveiled at the 1998 Turin motor show.
It previewed the Thesis executive car which wouldn’t go on sale until 2002; The Thesis wasn’t sold in the UK or outside Europe. Powered by a 3-litre Alfa Romeo V6 engine, this particular peculiar Papal preview now resides in the Vatican museum in Rome.
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Mercedes ML 430 (2002)
Mercedes was back in favour at the Vatican when it presented the Pope with a new ML-derived Popemobile in 2002. Following the same form as the previous G-Wagen versions, there as a large rear canopy for the pontiff to stand or sit in, substantial armour plating and ballistic glass, and a Mother of Pearl paint finish.
Pope John Paul II is reputed to have been so impressed that he asked the media not to use the ‘papa-mobile’ tag as he felt it wasn’t dignified enough. In this photo, we see the car with a member of the Pope’s bodyguard. The Pope’s protection is the responsibility of plain clothes Swiss Guards and also members of the Italian police.
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Ferrari Enzo (2005)
Ferrari said it would only build 399 Enzos, but when you want to give the Pope a special present you can always make just one more 660bhp V12 supercar. So, the 400th and final Enzo was given to Pope John Paul II and then auctioned off for charity for just under US$1 million.
To mark out the car as even more special, it was finished in the same Rosso Scuderia red paint as the company’s Formula One cars and the carbon fibre rear wing was left unpainted – the only Enzo to leave the factory like this. It was sold at auction once again in 2015 – this time selling for US$6.05 million.
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Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W140) Landaulet (2005)
Here we see Pope Benedict XVI in a Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W140) Landaulet in Rome in June 2005, only two months after he became Pope. Very few Landaulet W140s were ever produced.
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Renault Kangoo Maxi Z.E (2012)
Just because you’re God’s representative on Earth, it doesn’t mean you don’t have to look after the planet. That’s why Pope Francis had a pair of Renault Kangoo Maxi Z.E plug-in electric MPVs. Originally a gift to Pope Benedict XVI (2005-13), they were deemed too slow for ceremonial duties where a turn of speed is potentially required. However, the Renaults earn their keep at the Papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, located south of Rome.
Built with help from coachbuilder Grunau, the Kangoos come with an opening roof, retractable side step and a pair of individual rear seats.
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Renault 4 (2013)
It was a return to Pope Francis’s (2013-2025) roots when he took to the wheel of a Renault 4 that was presented to him by an Italian priest. The Pope used the same model when he was a priest in his native Argentina and surprised his bodyguards by taking the French hatch for a spin around the Vatican.
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Jeepney (2015)
During a visit to the Philippines in 2015, the Pope was presented with a Jeepney as his tour bus. Why use one of the customised trucks based on old US Army Jeep chassis? Simple: they’re used by locals as a cheap form of transport and the Pope wanted to be part of that. Even so, the Papal Jeepney came with a raised seat in the rear for the Pope to perch on and the exterior was finished with airbrushed scenes from religious history.
However, it also did without the usual bullet-proof glass as the Pope wanted to be close to his followers.
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Isuzu D-Max (2015)
While in the Philippines for his 2015 visit, the Pope needed something a little more capable off-road than a Jeepney, so he received an Isuzu D-Max. The usual double cab was chopped behind the front doors, though the rears were still in evidence. At the back, a fold-down step gives access to the large armchair for the Pope, plus there are two smaller seats for security staff.
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Fiat 500L (2015)
When Pope Francis arrived in Washington, DC, in September 2015, he caused a stir by using a humble Fiat 500L to leave the airport, looked on by President Obama and the First Lady, Michelle Obama (pictured). Modesty was a key part of Pope Francis’s outlook on life, including in his transport.
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Jeep Wrangler (2015)
Normal service was resumed, however, for the rest of the visit with a custom-made Jeep Wrangler. The long wheelbase chassis carried a pick-up-style rear body but with side handles and a large bullet-deflecting canopy over the Pope's white leather seat. At the rear, a set of steps and rails helped the pontiff when getting in and out. In this photo we see the Pope visiting Independence Hall, in Philadelphia.
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Lamborghini Huracán (2017)
Finished in Bianco Monocerus with a Giallo Tiberino decoration, it also sports the Pope’s signature on the bonnet. That helped it realise €715,000 when it went under the hammer in Monaco.
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Peugeot Hoggar
In this photo Pope Francis waves to crowds lining the streets of Havana as his Popemobile passes by on his visit to Cuba in September 2015. He's in a customised Peugeot Hoggar, a variant of the front-engined, front wheel drive Peugeot 206+ then sold in Caribbean and South American markets; the vehicle was built in Brazil.
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Toyota Hilux (2018)
In this photo Pope Francis greets crowds in the city of Santiago in Chile in January 2018. He's travelling in a customised Toyota Hilux.
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BMW 733i
The Pope doesn't go everywhere in a Popemobile. When he wants to be a be more discreet, a low-key limousine like this BMW 733i as used by Pope John Paul II makes a lot of sense.
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Golf Kart (2024)
This is a rather different sort of vehicle for the Pope. In this photo we see Pope Francis at the June 2024 G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy, alongside Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni in a converted golf cart, in front of various world leaders including US president Biden, UK prime minister Sunak, and Chancellor Scholz of Germany.
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Pindad Maung MV3 Tangguh (2024)
For his visit to Indonesia in 2024 Pope Francis travelled in one of the more interesting papal vehicles, an adapted machine based on the locally-built Pindad Maung MV3 Tangguh. Designed originally as a military vehicle, civilian versions became available in 2023. Power comes from a 2.4-litre 136bhp Toyota diesel engine.
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Toyota Mirai (2024)
Here's another intriguing vehicle for the Pope: a customised hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai, as seen in St Peter's Square in The Vatican in September 2024. Pope Francis for long a time campaigned for action on climate change, and hydrogen-powered transport is potentially part of that story.
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Mercedes G-Class (2025)
Pope Francis makes his last journey in a Popemobile, in St Peter's Square in Rome, on Easter Sunday, 20 April 2025; he died the next morning, aged 88.
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Photo Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
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