Pope road cruiser goes under hammer
John Paul II given Ford Lincoln Continental as present during 1979 trip to US
Mutterstadt, 2005/07/01 (profact) - Collectors of spectacular papal religious items await the next auction highlight. This time, however, it does not concern a simple Golf but instead a full-sized US road cruiser: a white Ford Lincoln Continental, 1979 model with a 6.5 litre engine and almost six metres long. The vehicle belonged to the dead, and now standing before beatification, Pope John II. The auction will run on the 17th September at 2pm at Henry's auction house in Mutterstadt and on the Internet at www.henrys.de.
The car was given to Pope John Paul II as a present during his visit to the US in 1979. Numerous press reports from that time cover this story. Not long after, the Ford Lincoln was imported to the Vatican state and registered to the government under the license plate S.C.V 1. The Vatican confirmed this to the auction house. His Holiness later presented the vehicle to the Caritas Foundation in Rome with the order to sell the car and donate the proceeds to aid the Cambodian refugees. Caritas sold the vehicle to the Roman car dealer, Marco Berti. The car was sold again in 1980 to a car dealer in Germany. The Ford has been in the hands of the current owner since 1988.
According to Henry's, the history of the Pope's road cruiser is completely substantiated by relevant documents. According to experts, the vehicle is in excellent original condition with a minimal mileage of 6,000 miles. Among other things, the car has a white cream leather interior, air-conditioning, radio, electric sunroof, electrically adjustable seats and electric windows - and a Cartier clock.
(Thanks to Ann for the release. Send your goofy press releases to Franklin Avenue!)
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