A popemobile is a specially designed motor vehicle used by the Pope of the Catholic Church during public appearances. It was designed to allow the pope to be more visible when greeting large crowds.

There have been many different designs for popemobiles since Pope Paul VI first used a modified Lincoln Continental to greet crowds in New York City in 1965. Some are open air while others have bulletproof glass walls to enclose the pope (deemed necessary after the 1981 Pope John Paul II assassination attempt).

Some allow the pope to sit, while others are designed to accommodate him standing. The variety of popemobiles allows the Roman Curia to select an appropriate one for each usage depending upon the level of security needed, distance, speed of travel, and the pope's preferences.

The vehicle registration plates of Vatican City all begin with the letters "SCV", the abbreviation of the Latin 'Status Civitatis Vaticanae', followed by the vehicle fleet number.

Italian automaker Fiat, the traditional supplier of papal cars, supplied Pope Francis with the midsize Fiat 500L for his visit to the United States on September 22–27, 2015. Fiat also supplied the Jeep Wrangler he used in Ecuador in July 2015.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org