This new BEV Fisker will join the FCEV Mirai in the Pope’s increasingly electrified fleet.
It may come as a surprise, but there has yet to be a fully BEV popemobile yet. While the head of the Catholic Church has received a Renault Kangoo Z.E in the past, the only all-electric car that has been converted for official papal use came in the form of a modified Mirai gifted by Toyota to the Vatican late last year.
This lack of a battery-electric popemobile is about to change however, as Fisker has recently announced that it will be developing one based on its as-yet-unlaunched Ocean. Shown off during a private audience with the Pope recently, the design proposed by co-founders Henrik Fisker and Dr. Geeta Gupta-Fisker will in essence just add an all-glass cupola sticking out of the roof of this e-SUV.
Said to give crowds the best chance of seeing the pontiff while his holiness is out and about, this seems to rather contradict with what Pope Francis’ previous requests for his official rides to be of more modest means and to do without the protection of the bulletproof glass. Having said that however, the lack of exhaust emissions would surely be to the benefit of those the thousands typically surround the popemobile when it is used.
Speaking further about the eco-friendly aspects of this upcoming all-electric Fisker crossover, the interior of this all-electric papal transport will apparently contain a variety of sustainable materials, such as carpets made from recycled plastic bottles from the ocean. “I got inspired reading that Pope Francis is very considerate about the environment and the impact of climate change for future generations,” stated Henrik Fisker in a statement regarding this upcoming popemobile.
To those unfamiliar, Pope Francis has long been an advocate for climate action. His holiness had famously spoke out back in 2015 acknowledging the realities climate change and man’s action that caused it, hence calling on the faithful to take action in improving the situation.
Turning back onto the topic to his new wheels meanwhile, the converted Ocean popemobile is slated for delivery to the Vatican sometime next year. Production of this new e-SUV is set to only begin on the 22nd of November 2022, so expect this specially converted papal transport to be one of the first examples to be leaving the Magna factory where this Fisker has been contracted to be produced.
Aside from the addition of the glass cupola, further details regarding the changes made to this Fisker popemobile are still unknown thus far. Production-spec Oceans however have been touted to go up to 480 km (300 miles) on a single charge, with the high-performance dual-motor version supposedly capable of 0-96 km/h in a lightning quick 2.9 seconds too.
The specially converted Fisker popemobile is perhaps highly unlikely to ever replicate that blistering acceleration time. And besides, if the Pope ever wanted to go fast, both Ferrari and Lamborghini has actually gifted the Vatican a series of tasty exotics in the past, though it was all unfortunately for his holiness to auction off for charity.
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