The new "Popemobile" was designed over a two-year development period in close consultation with the Vatican and has now been handed over to the Pope.

This open official car, which the Head of the Catholic Church requested for use during fine weather, was developed by Mercedes-Benz from the evergreen G-Class, specifically the G 500. It is equipped with a folding windscreen and hand-rails and like its predecessors it is painted in the Vatican mystic white finish. The interior is likewise white and is accessed via steps lined in red at the rear. The Pope holds his audiences in a standing position, so that he is easily visible to all the flock.

The Pope is continuing a long tradition with the new Popemobile from Mercedes-Benz. Pope Pius XI was the first to receive a Mercedes-Benz as an official car in 1930 - a Nürburg 460 Pullman limousine. Over the following decades Mercedes-Benz regularly provided the Vatican with automobiles which had been specially converted for the use of the Pontiff.