Photo: RM Sotheby's/Lamborghini
The job of supreme pontiff has its quirks, and for Pope Francis, that includes freebies such as a white-and-gold Huracan LP 580-2 Coupe donated by Lamborghini to his ecclesiastical jurisdiction. A handful of photos and one signature on the front trunk later, the supercar was ready to hit the auction block.
After receiving the V10-powered Raging Bull in November 2017, the pope’s 580-horsepower blingmobile hammered for the cool price of €715,000 at the RM Sotheby’s auction at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo. That amount of euros converts to $861,580 at current exchange rates, which is more than four times the manufacturer’s suggested retail price ($199,800) in the United States of America.
What will the pope do with this bundle of cash, you ask? Francis is a-OK as he is, which is why all proceeds from the sale are going to charity. In collaboration with Lamborghini, those 715,000 euros will benefit four causes, with 70-percent of the sum allocated to a place called Nineveh in the Republic of Iraq. That’s one of the cities attacked and besieged by terrorist organization ISIS. The remaining 30 percent will be split between Amici per il Centrafica Onlus, Groupe International Chirurgiens Amis de la Main, and the Pope John XXIII Community Association.
Customized by the Ad Personam department, the rear-wheel-drive Huracan with the pope’s signature is finished in Bianco Monocerus and Giallo Tiberino. The color combo is a nod to the Vatican City flag, adopted in 1929 when Pope Pius XI signed the treaty with Italy that created the independent state governed by the Holy See.
Even though the LP 580-2 is the cheapest supercar in the Italian automaker’s lineup, the performance is nothing to scoff at. In addition to the metric ponies mentioned beforehand, 540 Nm (398 pound-feet) of toque are delivered to the rear wheels at the tap of the loud pedal, translating to 3.4 seconds to 100 km/h (62 mph).
On full song, the rear-wheel-drive Huracan will hit 320 km/h (198 mph) provided that you can find a stretch of deristricted Autobahn or a long runway with perfect asphalt. Not bad for the baby Lambo, right?
What will the pope do with this bundle of cash, you ask? Francis is a-OK as he is, which is why all proceeds from the sale are going to charity. In collaboration with Lamborghini, those 715,000 euros will benefit four causes, with 70-percent of the sum allocated to a place called Nineveh in the Republic of Iraq. That’s one of the cities attacked and besieged by terrorist organization ISIS. The remaining 30 percent will be split between Amici per il Centrafica Onlus, Groupe International Chirurgiens Amis de la Main, and the Pope John XXIII Community Association.
Customized by the Ad Personam department, the rear-wheel-drive Huracan with the pope’s signature is finished in Bianco Monocerus and Giallo Tiberino. The color combo is a nod to the Vatican City flag, adopted in 1929 when Pope Pius XI signed the treaty with Italy that created the independent state governed by the Holy See.
Even though the LP 580-2 is the cheapest supercar in the Italian automaker’s lineup, the performance is nothing to scoff at. In addition to the metric ponies mentioned beforehand, 540 Nm (398 pound-feet) of toque are delivered to the rear wheels at the tap of the loud pedal, translating to 3.4 seconds to 100 km/h (62 mph).
On full song, the rear-wheel-drive Huracan will hit 320 km/h (198 mph) provided that you can find a stretch of deristricted Autobahn or a long runway with perfect asphalt. Not bad for the baby Lambo, right?
Google News