Autoblog

The Pope's got himself a new ride, and boy is it, uh, white. Mercedes announced today that they have given his Holiness a highly-customized G500. Like previous Popemobiles, the G500 has a folding windscreen, and handrails and steps in the rear for entry.

The Vaticanmysitc white interior matches the Vaticanmystic white exterior which, we assume, matches the Pope's Vaticanmystic white robes.

Mercedes says the topless G500 will be the Pope's fair weather car and the S-Class in the Vatican garage can be summoned for less sunny driving.

Read the company's full press release after the jump, and click on the photo for high-res images.



[Source: Daimler]

It's ba-ack. The VW Golf that drew 8.5 million hits the first time it appeared on eBay is back on the block. That was almost two years ago in May of 2005, believe it or not. In case you don't remember, this 1999 Volkswagen Golf was the personal conveyance of then-Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, until shortly before his ascendance to Popehood. The Cardinal sold the car and it ended up in the hands of one Benjamin Halbe, who had no idea who the former owner was, but hit the jackpot when Ratzinger became Pope. The 6-year-old grey car sold for almost €190,000 when press-hungry GoldenPalace.com decided they had to have it. Well, apparently the novelty has worn off and it's time to shed the vehicle from their collection of oddities.

GoldenPalace.com has put the VeeDub up for sale and promises that the proceeds will go to Habitat for Humanity Great Britain. They also say that the car has not been driven since it was bought in 2005, so mileage should still be around 75,000 KM. In case the lucky bidder decides to drive the car, they should know that it has been started and features a 5-speed manual transmission, AC, PW, PL, tilt steering, cassette stereo, alloys, ABS, dual front airbags, side airbags, safety belt pretensioners, and presumably, God as your co-pilot. With more than eight days left, the bidding is already over $55,000.

[Source: eBay via German Car Scene]

Holy Dub! These Blessinem 24s are perfect for the WJWD (What Woud Jesus Drive) crowd: chrome, oversized rims with crosses. We think this might have been one of the things Nostradamus predicted would happen before the end of the world. Can I get an amen?

So who might be interested in letting their wheels do their witnessing? Jerry Falwell? President Bush? Check after the jump to see one logical possibility.

[Source: MHT Wheels via Winding Road]

The Pope has a new set of wheels. VW's head honcho, Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, has presented Pope Benedict XVI with a customized long wheelbase W12 Phaeton. The car is trimmed out to maximize the Holy Father's privacy, comfort and security (translation: it's armored) as he's shuttled about in the 450-horsepower super-sled.

More photos of the presentation of the car to the Pope can be found after the jump.

[Source: Volkswagen]