As Pope Benedict XVI continues his travels through London this week, he’ll hit the streets in his custom vehicle. Dubbed the Popemobile, the vehicle is specially designed to keep the Pope safe, with armor-plating on most of the vehicle and bulletproof glass.
The London Daily Mirror reports that, “the Popemobile vehicle was first made famous by Pope John Paul II, who used a modified truck on his first papal visit to his Polish homeland. The current Popemobile is a Mercedes equipped with the latest security measures. The side panels and undercarriage are armored, and a bulletproof glass enclosure has been built on top of an M-class chassis.”
Bulletproof glass and other security measures were put into place after a failed May 1981 assassination attempt by sniper Mehmet Ali Agca on Pope John Paul II, who was shot four times.
