Earlier this week he took delivery of a Dacia Duster, the latest in a long line of Popemobiles to be put into service.

Until the 1960s, the pontiff made do with luxury saloons, but since then there’s been a succession of custom-built machinery of varying sizes and suitability. In this story we explain the evolution of this somewhat unique market segment, and select the most notable to wear the Pope’s personalised number plate: