Will the pope be charged more than the meter?

What most Indians seem to dread is a travel by auto-rickshaw and the exorbitant rates their drivers charge when you use their services.

However the Pope seems to have taken a liking for this three wheeler. Italian manufacturer Piaggio has come out with two custom made autos for the pope in white color from its factory situated in Maharashtra, India. The vehicles are the first Popemobiles to be made in India, and the first three-wheelers in the pontiff’s collection.

This will pave way for an Indian connection to the way pope travels at the Vatican.



Ravi Chopra, the managing director of Piaggio’s Indian subsidiary, said that the automobile had been specially designed to meet the Pope’s needs and specifications to suit a person of his status.

He revealed that the rickshaws had been fitted with leather seats, white wheels, white canvas roofs, and white doors inscribed with the Vatican insignia.

However the open-sided vehicles are less likely to be used by the pontiff in public because they are not bullet-proof.

The vehicles were presented to the Pope during an audience in the Vatican to mark the 60th anniversary of the production of the Piaggio Ape, on whose design the three-wheeler is based.

According to Vatican officials, the first Popemobile made for the purpose of driving the pontiff around was Nurberg 460 Pullman limousine, which was made for Pius XI by Mercedes-Benz in 1930.

Benedict XVI at present uses a custom-built two-door Mercedes ML 430 that was donated to the Vatican in 2002.