Convertible always catch the fancy of onlookers, and in countries like India it makes an impression of being driven by the wealthiest. Though, there isn’t a huge demand for convertible SUVs which the world had seen, where the Range Rover Evoque Cabriolet is still faraway. Here, it was unexpected for a carmaker like Hyundai to make headlines with its Santa Fe ‘convertible’ from St. Peter’s Square. Yes, that’s true this Korean carmaker had made a special one-off SUV without the roof for Pope Francis.
Thus, the new Popemobile from Hyundai is based on the SUV’s pre-facelift model and Pope made the initial presence in it at St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City. Unlike the Mercedes-Benz’s model which had a bulletproof casing to protect him from any attack, this new Hyundai Popemobile is exposed to the core where one can see the Pope like as he is, without an intervention of glass. The car is said preferred over Benz due to its ability to maneuver easily in the narrow lanes where the Benz had fallen bulky to cut the traffic down. Reportedly, SUV got two seats at front and three at rear. The Pope from the back seat can step out using side doors and stepping on the retractable foot-board.
Thus, we don’t expect Hyundai Santa Fe Popemobile of being tweaked under the bonnet. A 2.2-liter CRDi surely fits the engine bay without making any discrimination between the general buyers and Pope Francis.
