Under development at Mercedes-Benz, the new
vehicle, will come with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that should
provide enough power to keep the car ticking over for 16 miles at
cruising speeds low enough for the pontiff to seen by the faithful,
while a petrol engine takes over at higher speeds.
The
pope, according to the German business paper Wirtschaftswoche, had
wanted an all-electric car but this idea was scrapped because a battery
may have lacked the power and speed needed to shift the five-ton vehicle
in an emergency situation.
Although
Wirtschaftswoche cited a Mercedes' source that claimed the vehicle,
based on a M-class SUV, was being developed "on behalf of customers in
the Vatican" the German auto-giant has remained tight-lipped about the
project.
Rob Halloway, public relations manager for Mercedes Benz cars, said that "due to confidentiality we cannot comment on any Papal vehicle like this".
It had been hoped the new Popemobile would be ready for Pope Benedict's visit to his homeland at the end of September but Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said the car would not be ready until the end of the year at the earliest.
The green-credential of the vehicle dovetails with
Pope Benedict's strong stance on environmental issues.
Already dubbed
the "green pope", he wants the Vatican to install enough renewable
energy sources to provide 20 per cent of the city state's energy needs
by 2020.