Pope's Premier Personal Plate

The new 'Popemobile', which will transport His Holiness on the forthcoming UK tour, has been unveiled. It's a Mercedes M Class desgned to travel at just 6mph although, of course, such vehicles are able to scoot away at high speed if necessary in the case of an emergency or security scare.

The custom-built job features the usual secure pod in which Pope Benedict XVI will stand to wave at the crowds as he sedately glides by, chauffered by an 'un-named' British driver [The Stig?].

The car, which has been used on earlier state visits around the world, will bear the registration SCV 1. The letters 'SCV' represent Stato della Citta del Vaticano - Italian for 'Vatican City'.

In earlier times, a simple sedan chair was hauled by the papal attendants and it was not until the 1980s when motorised carriages were first employed by Pope John Paul II. These were, however, fairly crude conversions such as the modified Range Rover and Leyland truck used on an earlier UK visit. Following an assassination attempt in 1981, the first purpose-built vehicles, with their distinctive bullet-proof compartments, began to appear.

On the 1982 UK tour the 'Popemobile', as any papal transport had now come to be referred to, was given the registration VIP 1. Following the visit, the plate was sold, along with the vehicle, at auction and Regtransfers were honoured to have had the registration on their stock list for a short time.

We may have to wait a few years for SCV 1 to appear on the market but, in the meantime, Regtransfers.co.uk can offer some great 'Papal Plates' from as little as £425 for J7 SCV plus many other fine examples including 73 SCV at £2995.

A Very Important Plate

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