In a private meeting at the Vatican on Tuesday, Pope Francis received the keys to his new Popemobile directly from Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. The newest Mercedes M-Class popemobile was built specifically for Pope Francis, just as other Popes have had Mercedes design and build unique models in the past.  His Holiness also received a smart eBike in addition to the latest Papal vehicle.

During their time together, Zetsche and Pope Francis also discussed Daimler AG’s aim to create an environmentally friendly and sustainable future for the automotive industry, starting in part by investing 10.8 billion euros in research and development (about half of which will be used directly for researching and developing clean green technologies). Zetsche also spoke about Daimler’s continued effort to be a responsible leader in business, taking on a variety of charitable projects as well as activities in the fields of science, education, art, culture. In 2012 alone, Daimler donated 58 million Euro to not-for-profit institutions and social projects around the world.

After his meeting with the Pope, Zetsche noted that “This tradition is a huge source of pride to us,” and Daimler is “delighted that His Holiness Pope Francis has decided to trust in the safety and comfort of our vehicles and that, by providing the popemobile, we will continue to accompany him on his travels in the future.”

The Mercedes-Benz brand has been providing vehicles for the Pope’s trips and official appearances for more than 80 years, starting in 1930 with a Nürburg 460 pullman saloon for Pope Pius XI and again in the 1960s with a 300d landaulet convertible specially built for Pope John XXIII. When Paul VI succeeded him, he used a Mercedes-Benz 600 pullman landaulet and later switched to a 300 SEL. The term ‘popemobile’, however, was not used until the 1980s, when it was first used in reference to a modified Mercedes G-Class that was used by Pope John Paul II. The Pope’s Mercedes G-Class was later replaced by the M-Class Mercedes in 2002.

Only two months ago, Daimler announced that it had delivered Pope Benedict XVI his new popemobile.  The Pope’s custom ride was a one-of-a-kind Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUV with quite a few special security features.  Since its delivery, the pope has been seen riding in the custom Mercedes around in Rome during celebrations.

Compared with the previous popemobile, a modified M-Class from 2002, Mercedes had extended the dome significantly to give the pope more room and easier entry. Larger glass panels and better illumination also aim to make the pontiff more visible and seemingly more accessible to crowds.  The white-painted vehicle’s central interior design feature is a ‘‘throne’’ embroidered with the pontiff’s coat of arms.

Not surprisingly, Daimler did not go into detail as to what exactly the vehicle’s security features included, but you can bet it has similar features to those found in the Mercedes-Benz Guard Models.

Unfortunately, the latest popemobile won’t receive many more miles from Pope Benedict XVI as he announced today that he’ll be stepping down at the end of the month.

The question remains – will the new Pope take over the current popemobile or will Mercedes customize a new design for a new Pope?

Welcome to 2013!  We’ve swapped out our 2012 calendars for our 2013 ones and we are ready to move forward and start a new year.  But, before we do that, we wanted to take one last look at what 2012 had to offer.  We’ve compiled a list of some of the top stories of the year and posted them below with links to the complete articles and photo galleries for your enjoyment.

Happy New Year!

2013 Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake Official Release: With the new CLS Shooting Brake, Mercedes-Benz is once again setting an example when it comes to creativity of design, and as such highlighting its leading role in this area: in terms of its proportions, the new CLS is quite clearly a coupé, but with five doors and a roof which continues through to the rear, it promises some remarkable new possibilities. The idea of the four-door coupé – successfully introduced in 2004 with the first CLS and long imitated in the meantime – has now been taken to new heights and to innovative effect. The result is automotive independence at its most beautiful. Click Here.

Vorsteiner Mercedes CLS63 AMG Photos Revealed: Vorsteiner’s Mercedes CLS63 AMG will feature an all-new lightweight pre-preg carbon fiber aero package coupled with forged wheels and a cat back exhaust system. In the photos you can see the new front apron, redesigned side skirts, modified rear diffuser and the boot lid spoiler. All these parts feature all-new lightweight pre-preg carbon fiber. Click Here.

FAB Design Mercedes SLS Gullstream: Quite possibly the most radically built Mercedes SLS  to date, FAB Design’s widebody SLS tuning program, dubbed the Gullstream, remains at the top of our list. Originally revealed more than a year ago, I recently saw one of these beauties while on a family vacation at our hotel and had to give you a second look. Even better looking in person, the FAB Design SLS Gullstream is a widebody kit that features an all new front bumper, fenders, side skirts, rear quarter panels, rear bumper and rear diffuser. A lip spoiler made of carbon fiber is probably the most subtle of all the upgrades while the roof receives a non-functional air scoop. Click Here.

Helly Hansen Flow Down Parka: At the heart of the Flow Down Parka is… you guessed it… down.  Down, as you probably already know, is easily one of warmest, most insulating materials on the face of the earth.  But the problem with most down outerwear is that it’s overly bulky.  Down is stitched inside baffles, and the result is an overly puffy coat that makes you look the Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters – not exactly an endearing style trait.  Click Here.

Mercedes-Benz S600 Becomes a Luxurious Guardian by Topcar: Whether you’re a Russian businessmen or an unloved policy-maker, chances are you are not cruising the streets in a standard S-Class.  Instead you’re likely opting for something with a little, no a lot, more protection that still offers all the luxuries you’re used to.  According to Topcar, secrecy is one of the relevant aspects of security, which is why, externally armored vehicles look like everyone else’s run-of-the-mill luxury car. Click Here.

Mercedes-Benz G-Class Gets the Gold Treatment from Dartz iTempter: We were first introduced to the Latvian car manufacturer when they unveiled their Prombron, one of the most unique armored cars in the world.  For those of you unfamiliar with Dartz, they are a Latvian-based corporation, that designs, manufactures, and sells high performance armored vehicles. Today, they have unveiled their iTempter, based on the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.  The Dartz iTempter G-Class comes complete with upgraded wood and leather, iPads and gold accents.  A lot of gold accents. Click Here.

Brabus Unveils Their Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake: The new Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake has arrived, and like the first CLS that created a market for four-door coupes, the new five-door model redefines the sporty-elegant wagon. Taking the Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake to the next level is a sophisticated refinement program is now available from BRABUS. The extensive product lineup starts with sporty-elegant aerodynamic-enhancement components for all Shooting Brake models with or without AMG sport package, and features custom-tailored BRABUS wheels with diameters of up to 20 inches. Also part of the BRABUS portfolio are exclusive interior options and engine tuning that delivers up to 455 kW / 619 hp (610 bhp) of power, 1,000 Nm (737 lb-ft) of torque and a top speed of 320 km/h (200 mph). Click Here.

Mercedes-Benz CLS Utility Coupe Rendered: What if there was a luxury ute segment. Imagine for a minute what looks like an El Camino but with shiny new paint, aluminum loading rails with a wooden load compartment floor all while being surrounded by alcantara leather and wood trim. Well, here’s what that would look like if the Mercedes-Benz CLS Coupe became a ute! Click Here.

Brooklyn Decker in GQ and Sports Illustrated: Brooklyn Decker was born April 12, 1987.  She’s a model, part-time actress, and an avid Tar Heels fan.  She’s worked for Victoria’s Secret, she’s been featured numerous years in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (including gracing the cover in 2010), and she’s made appearances on several television shows (such as NBC’s Chuck and USA Network’s Royal Pains).  And she’s married to Andy Roddick, who we hear plays tennis or something. Click Here.

GAD Tuned CLS63 AMG: The Mercedes CLS63 AMG is one of the most popular cars for tuners – the main reason its 5.5 liter bi-turbo V8 engine that can be tuned to output massive power as well as its exterior beauty.  In the recent past, we’ve seen CLS63 AMG by Kicherer, Vorsteiner,  SR Auto Group, Vitt, Mansory and Waldto name a few. The latest tuner to jump on the CLS63 AMG bandwagon is GAD with their 803hp monster. Click Here.

Official 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class World Premiere: The 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been officially unveiled and we have nearly 70 photos covering all angles of the interior and exterior of both the E-Class Sedan and Wagon along with engine and technical information.  If you can barely contain your excitement, skip straight to the photo gallery below or head directly to the quick reference guide by CLICKING HERE.  Otherwise, continue on for an in-depth look at the all new 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Click Here.

Pope Benedict XVI Takes Delivery of New Popemobile: Daimler announced today that it has delivered Pope Benedict XVI his new popemobile.  The Pope’s new custom ride is a one-of-a-kind Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUV with quite a few special security features.  Daimler said the new car was delivered Friday to the Vatican and people should be able to see the pope riding in it Saturday in Rome during a celebration at the Spanish Steps Click Here.

Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series by TIKT: TIKT, a German tuner and performance-parts specialist, has reworked the already exceptionally powerful Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series Coupe, transforming it into the Black Barron for the 2012 Essen Motor Show. Over the years the company has made a name for itself as a top tuner with its spectacular and technically expert individual conversions based solely on the top range Corvette (including diverse lap records with the TIKT Corvette ZR 1 Triple X). Click Here.

Helly Hansen H2 Flow Jacket: In everyone’s life, there’s a moment when you try something and you think to yourself, “This is brilliant… why didn’t I think of it?”  In the world of outerwear, Helly Hansen has just launched a product that falls precisely into the aforementioned category , solving the dilemma of how to precisely blend optimal amounts of heating and cooling. Click Here.

Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe Photo Gallery: The last time we took a look at the Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe, it was drifting the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca. Today, we have photos of the AMG Coupe touring the streets of Germany from Germany’s finest photogs at Wötzel Photography.  Head to the gallery and click through to enlarge the photos to view the Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe in all its glory. Click Here.

Mercedes-Benz Super Bowl Ad: The total cost to debut the new models:  roughly $6 million, thanks to the Super Bowl’s impressive ad rate of $3 million per 30 seconds.  And while we could wait two days and simply watch to see the models make their $6 million Super Bowl debut, the truth is, I hate waiting, so I’ll do you one better.  I’ll give you a sneak peak of the models making their debut, not Sunday, but right now Click Here.

Daimler announced today that it has delivered Pope Benedict XVI his new popemobile.  The Pope’s new custom ride is a one-of-a-kind Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUV with quite a few special security features.  Daimler said the new car was delivered Friday to the Vatican and people should be able to see the pope riding in it Saturday in Rome during a celebration at the Spanish Steps.

Compared with the previous popemobile, a modified M-Class from 2002, Mercedes has extended the dome significantly to give the pope more room and easier entry. Larger glass panels and better illumination also aim to make the pontiff more visible and seemingly more accessible to crowds.  The white-painted vehicle’s central interior design feature is a ‘‘throne’’ embroidered with the pontiff’s coat of arms.

Not surprisingly, Daimler did not go into detail as to what exactly the vehicle’s security features included, but you can bet it has similar features to those found in the Mercedes-Benz Guard Models.

Mercedes-Benz has been providing popemobiles since 1930. In the summer of that year, 80 years ago, Pope Pius XI received a Mercedes-Benz Nürburg 460 as a present from Daimler-Benz AG. In the following decades, Mercedes-Benz supplied the Vatican with several extensively converted limousines, landaulets and offroaders as official cars for the Holy Father. For three quarters of a century, there have therefore been close relations between the Stuttgart-based automotive brand and the Roman Supreme Pontiff.

The passenger was enthusiastic. It was clear for all to see that Pope Pius XI had enjoyed the one-hour trial run in his new Mercedes-Benz through the Vatican gardens. “A masterpiece of modern engineering,” the Holy Father enthused when he climbed out of the Pullman limousine based on the Mercedes-Benz Nürburg 460. The elegant car with the three-pointed star on the engine hood had been handed over to him by a Daimler-Benz delegation and was to go down in history in subsequent years – as the first automobile to be regularly used by a pope.

This Mercedes-Benz handed over to Pope Pius XI 80 years ago was nothing less than the beginning of close relations between the Vatican and the Stuttgart-based motor manufacturer. In the decades that followed, Mercedes-Benz regularly presented the Vatican with automobiles which had been extensively converted for the pope. During the last 30 years, television and newspaper photos made the popemobiles based on Mercedes-Benz offroaders from the G-Class and M-Class particularly well known. Especially the travels of Pope John Paul II made the offroaders, finished in the papal colors mother-of-pearl and gold and fitted with the characteristic glass cupola, famous throughout the world. However, the landaulets and limousines based on the S-Class equally form part of the pope’s public appearances.

The Mercedes-Benz Nürburg and the current papal car, an M-Class with special bodywork, are the cornerstones of the brand history of automobiles from Stuttgart specially manufactured for the Holy Father. The first modern model after World War II was a Mercedes-Benz 300 d – the “Adenauer-Mercedes” – handed over to Pope John XXIII by rep-resentatives from Untertürkheim in 1960, 30 years after Pope Pius XI’s trial run in the Nürburg. The Mercedes-Benz 300 d had been converted into a landaulet with extended wheelbase – with a soft-top above the rear compartment and a hard-top above the front seats.

In 1965, a delegation from Stuttgart handed over a landaulet version of the Mercedes-Benz 600 to Pope Paul VI at the papal summer residence. In the following two years, as many as three cars – model 300 SEL from the 109 series – were supplied. For the visit of Pope John Paul II to Germany in 1980, Mercedes-Benz developed the first popemobile with a transparent superstructure based on an offroader – a converted G-Class car which was given to the Vatican as a present in 1982. In 1985, the Vatican’s fleet was extended by the addition of a special version of the Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL (W 126), followed in 1997 by a long-wheelbase landaulet version of the S 500. In the summer of 2002, finally, DaimlerChrysler presented the Holy Father with a popemobile set up on the proven example of the G-Class, only this time the car was based on the ML 430 from the M-Class.

Tradition and dignity

Starting with the Nürburg, the history of popemobiles from Mercedes-Benz ranges through to the 2002 M-Class, reflecting a relationship between the Holy See and the Stuttgart-based automotive brand, which has developed and thrived through several pontificates. And this relationship has time and again been expressed by the close cooperation between Mercedes-Benz and the Vatican in the design and manufacture of new automobiles for the pope.

The popes themselves have held their Mercedes-Benz cars in high esteem, too. When the M-Class was handed over to Pope John Paul II in Rome in 2002, the Holy Father himself addressed the media with the plea rather not to use “papa-mobile”, the term not being commensurate with the dignity and purpose of these automobiles.

Sedan-chairs and carriages

For many centuries, the popes used carriages and sedan-chairs for journeys, processions and other public appearances. A very special role was played by the Sedia Gestatoria, the papal sedan-chair. It was carried by twelve “palafrenieri” in red uniforms at events of high litur-gical significance for large congregations. Its purpose was much the same as that of modern popemobiles with their raised seats: the Holy Father was to be seen also from quite a distance by the faithful at important events, attended by large crowds of guests and spectators.

After the invention of the automobile in 1886, it took several decades before the Vatican used a motor vehicle for the pope for the first time. The reason for this was not a reservation against modern engineering but Italian politics. The Papal States had been dissolved when the Italian nation was founded in 1870. King Vittorio Emanuele II had offered Pope Pius IX limited sovereignty which the latter had, however, refused to accept. In the following six decades, the popes did not leave Vatican City out of protest against the unsolved “Roman Question”.

This situation did not change before 1929 with the signing of the Lateran Pacts by Secretary-of-State Pietro Cardinal Gasparri for the Vatican and Prime Minister Benito Mussolini for the Kingdom of Italy. In these contracts, the Vatican recognized Rome as the capital of the Italian nation and in turn, the kingdom recognized the Vatican’s territorial sovereignty in Vatican City and the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo. The signing of the Lateran Pacts in 1929 not only gave the pope new weight on the international political stage but also ended the Supreme Pontiff’s confinement to Vatican City, which had lasted almost 60 years.

A Mercedes-Benz for the pope?

For his trips to the summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, but also for other journeys, the Holy Father would now use an automobile in the future more often. Luxurious motor vehicles had already been presented to the Vatican since 1909. During the first quarter of the 20th century, the fleet encompassed vehicles from brands like Fiat, Bianchi, Graham-Paige, Itala, Citroën and others. But the pope would not be chauffeured around in a motor vehicle – he didn’t after all need a car in an area with a size of just 44 hectares (108.7 acres) – small enough to be walked around comfortably in just one hour. Apart from this, neither Pope Pius X (1903 – 1914) nor his successor Benedict XV (1914 – 1922) were known to be particularly interested in the modern engineering of the motor vehicle. Not so Pope Pius XI (1922 – 1939) who was fascinated by the opportunities offered by the motor vehicle and promptly started using the Vatican fleet’s vehicles shortly after the signing of the Lateran Pacts.

And why was the Holy Father not to undertake his travels in a Mercedes-Benz? This was the question asked in the spring of 1929 by Robert Katzenstein, the advertising man of Mercedes-Benz in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. From this question evolved the idea of a limousine individually converted for the pope as a present of Mercedes-Benz for the Vatican. How would the Vatican react to such a present from Germany?

Katzenstein knew Dr. Diego von Bergen, the German ambassador to the Vatican, and presented the idea to him. Von Bergen asked the right people at the Holy See how the Curia would respond to the present of an imposing Mercedes-Benz as an official car for the pope. The answer from Rome turned out to be so encouraging that Katzenstein submitted his proposal to corporate management without delay. The project of a Mercedes-Benz popemobile also met with agreement in Stuttgart and detailed planning began as early as the summer of 1929.