Hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai popemobile unveiled

Toyota has presented Pope Francis with a specially-adapted zero-emissions Toyota Mirai popemobile to help him conduct his papal duties in and around the Vatican City.

Addressing the pope's climate change concerns, the specially-converted hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai was a gift from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan and was one of two Mirais converted for the pope's visit to Japan last November.

Transforming the small sedan to popemobile was no small feat for the Japanese car-maker and involved the removal of much of the Mirai's rear body to accommodate both the single raised seat and safety cage needed for the pope to greet the crowds during his public appearances.

Other detail changes include an LED lighting system and a pair of Vatican diplomatic flags for the front wings, plus a couple of gilded Vatican insignias.

To allow access to the rear seat, there's a set of retractable steps that fold out when you open the rear door.

Under the bonnet, there's been no mechanical changes to the Mirai, so the small Toyota keeps its punchy single electric motor that musters 113kW and 353Nm of torque.

Better still, the whisper-quiet sedan that emits only water vapour has a decent 500km range and, if there's a handy hydrogen filling station nearby, takes just four minutes to fill from empty.

It's believed the latest Toyota popemobile will join a modified bulletproof Mercedes-Benz M-Class that was given to Pope Francis by Daimler back in 2013.

The evidence of the 'SCV 1' plate of the Toyota suggests the Benz, which also once sported that numberplate, might have been retired.

Pope Francis has in the past voiced his dislike of 'fancy' luxury cars, favouring more humble modes of transportation, like the Ford Focus he owned before becoming pope.

A few years back, Pope Francis had a rare Lamborghini Huracan supercar in his garage, but this was auctioned off for charity, raising $1.13 million at the time.