Fame and notoriety in the automotive world isn’t achieved solely by power and price alone; sometimes a vehicle enters the public consciousness for reasons unrelated to exclusivity or motoring panache.
Which is why nearly everyone knows of the existence of a particular white, 102-horsepower Mercedes-Benz. The automaker certainly hasn’t forgotten, taking time recently to reminisce about that SUV’s development some 40 years ago this summer.
It was a vehicle known the world over, though it likely wouldn’t have become as iconic if a barrage of 9mm rounds had found slightly different marks.
Yes, we’re talking about the modified 1980 Mercedes-Benz 230 G created solely for use by a certain resident of the Vatican. While prior popes used a menagerie of official vehicles, usually German in origin, Pope John Paul II was a much more accessible pontiff than those that came before. A new vehicle was needed — one tailor-made to get the head of the Catholic church as close to crowds as possible, in a very visible manner, while also providing protection from the elements (and later, from other things).
Once upon a time, the G-Class was not quite as luxurious and prestigious a vehicle as it is today, but the model chosen as the vehicle for the newly elected Pope was certainly a step above his other ride. That would be the open-top Fiat Campagnola 4×4 used only for forays through Vatican City and St. Peter’s Square.
It was in that vehicle that John Paul II met with a hail of gunfire launched from a would-be Turkish assassin.
Recovering from his wounds, John Paul II became the most-traveled pope in history, and the specially outfitted G-Wagon, instantly nicknamed the Popemobile, was always along for the ride. Though the plexiglass shelter originally designed for the vehicle (for use during an upcoming November 1980 trip to West Germany) was perfectly suited to keeping rain away, the attempted assassination saw it swapped for a bulletproof dome. Inside it, John Paul sat on a platform raised 40 cm above the vehicle’s typical floor height, illuminated, if necessary, by an array of lights.
Anyone who’s ever dealt with an non-tinted sunroof with no sliding shade knows the major drawback to such a setup: summer heating. To prevent the bubble-topped G-Wagen from succeeding where Mehmet Ali Ağca failed, the vehicle’s already weak 2.3-liter four-cylinder had to support a potent air conditioning unit. Upgrades occurred in 1983 and 1985.
A second, very similar vehicle joined the original Popemobile in 1982, though this one boasted 125 horsepower. The first of the two vehicles, created initially as a loaner, was officially handed over that year.
Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler displayed a typically German enthusiasm for unnecessary technical geekery in describing a vehicle that’s been a museum piece since 2004, describing the 1980 Popemobile in a manner that suggests one might be able to pick one up at the dealer tonight.
“The automatic transmission and a particularly comfortable chassis and suspension guarantee a smooth ride, even in challenging terrain.” Note the present tense.
No, you can’t get into a new 230 G these days (bummer), but you can visit the vehicle at the “G-Schichten” (G stories) special exhibition at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart until September.
[Images: Pixfly/Shutterstock, Daimler]
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I’d prefer whatever the 6×6 thing was that was built on the previous G-Wagen platform!
Or do they have a version of that on the new one?!
When you absolutely, positively have to GTF outta dodge!!
See the Australian Army when they retire their 6×6 g-wagens, guaranteed tough, well maintained. Watch out for bulldust and roo poo!
When Pope Francis came to New York he cruised up Fifth Ave in a modest Jesuit monk friendly Fiat 500L.
The 1.4 liter Multiair hummed like the sounds of angels.
if you are not aware Jesus preferred EV. And he did not fly on jets let alone private jets.
I thought Jesus rode his pet dinosaur
Not possible: fake news.
Fact check: Dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago (at the end of the Cretaceous Period).
Well, Christian biblical literalists put the earth at 9,000 years old. That kills the whole extinction 65 million years ago theory. Maybe the whole ‘walks on water” thing was made possible by a pet dinosaur?
“fake news”
NOT!! I wouldn’t have said that without proof
https://freelancechristianity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/jesus-on-a-dinosaur.jpg
Picture was taken with Moses’ iphone
Not possible for Jesus to ride a jet. Jesus was a human, and died at age 33 (or so). He has not lived 2,020 years. No one does. It’s silly to even pretend.
Even though it’s only a four-banger, it’s still quite a nice upgrade from the donkey that Jesus rode.
Why did I just have a vision of J/C as Father Guido Sarducci chasing the moneychangers out of the Temple??!!
“Why did I just have a vision of J/C as Father Guido Sarducci chasing the moneychangers out of the Temple??!!”
That would be a very good idea!
Lie2me:
Your post has a factual error.
Everyone knows that on biblical times Iphones did not exist yet. The photo of Jesus riding a dinosaur was taken with a Polaroid camera. :-)
Cannot be. America was not discovered yet. Or may be we are misinformed. History is unpredictable.
You need to catch up on your Flintstones rerun watching to get a more accurate timeline and view of history