The main limousine used by the Popes was a Mercedes 3000. A bit archaic, still belonging to Paul VI, then used by the short pontificate of John Paul I and finally throughout the long period of John Paul II’s office. After the assassination by Ali Agca in 1981, the car was slightly strengthened to be bulletproof. There was also a second Mercedes in the Papal garage, just like the first one with an open roof, but in a simplified, non-bulletproof version. In addition to them, we had a lancia, used sporadically. And, a total of four papamobiles: two Mercedes brands and two Range Rover brands. We used the latter primarily in foreign travels. They were perfect in Africa, because there we always had a problem with the wind from the desert, which blown sand on the car, and range rovers were more resistant than the vehicles we used every day.
In fact, it was John Paul II who began the era of famous papamobiles, although he himself, as Pietro Cicchetti also points out, did not like this name. He reportedly believed that it did not sufficiently reflect the character and importance of the white car. Papa-mobile, or “moving pope”, was to be replaced by a much more serious term “autovehiculum pontificium” (“pontifical vehicle”).
Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi “It happened in the Vatican”
Znak Publishing House. Kraków 2020
Pages: 241 – 242
