(June 20,2011) Germany’s leading automaker Mercedes-Benz is making a greener hybrid
Popemobile for Pope Benedict XVI, the Wirtschaftswoche (Vìrt-shafts-voher)
news magazine said on Saturday. However Vatican spokesman Fr. Federicoo Lombardi
told AFP that while the project for new car was under development it was not yet finalised
and the vehicle would not be ready before the end of the year. According to the weekly
business magazine report, the new Popemobile will be based on the four-wheel drive
M Class Mercedes with a hybrid electric-petrol motor. The rechargeable lithium-ion
battery will allow it to drive 30 kilometres without any polluting emissions. The
pope would not be allowed to use a purely electric-driven car as the Popemobile must
have the capacity to take off swiftly in case of emergency, the paper said. Mercedes
has provided special cars to successive popes since the 1980s, the special high-sized,
reinforced glass design allowing for maximum viewing with high levels of security.
Last December, Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the governorate of Vatican City
State, suggested Pope Benedict was "prepared to use an electric Popemobile," as long
as it was efficient and reliable. Pope Benedict XVI, sometimes labelled "the green
pope" in the Italian press, has emphasised the defence of "God's works" and therefore
the need to protect the environment.