Mercedes-Benz has delivered the first all-electric popemobile to the Vatican: a modified version of the German automaker’s G-Class SUV.
Some of the biggest changes from the standard G-Class involve using the four electric motors at each wheel to carefully control the vehicle at low speeds as it travels around the Vatican grounds. There is also a dedicated height-adjustable swiveling seat so the pope can address more of his audience.
While it’s an all-new type of propulsion for the pope’s dedicated ride, it’s not a new partner. Mercedes-Benz has built these types of vehicles for the Vatican for around 100 years, and a 2015 analysis by the Washington Post showed the automaker had built roughly one-third of all so-called popemobiles to that point.
Mercedes-Benz says it’s been working with the Vatican on the vehicle for around a year. But it wasn’t the first company that wanted to electrify the pope’s wheels. Now-defunct EV startup Fisker once claimed that it was working with the Vatican to create a special version of its Ocean SUV for the pope. The validity of that claim always seemed suspect at best, though, and Fisker went bankrupt earlier this year.
