How Did These Cars Ever Make It Into Production?

Auto 3/16/23

Mercedes-Benz Popemobile

The Popemobile is designed to make the Catholic Pope visible when greeting large crowds and driving through cities.

Popemobile_passes_the_White_House
Wikimedia Commons / Photo by Chris Greenberg
Wikimedia Commons / Photo by Chris Greenberg

The Popemobile was inspired by the sedia gestatoria which was a chair that the Pope rode through public and was carried by the attendants of his papal which ended in 1978. Popemobiles have been built by various manufacturers throughout the years including Mercedes Benz and GMC but typically have a similar body style and shape with a tall clear glass rectangular box for the Pope.