Rome, Italy, Oct 13, 2004 / 22:00 pm
The president of Ferrari, Luca Montezemolo, has said that the Formula One team will build a special model car for Pope John Paul II to mark the 26th anniversary of his pontificate.
"We will make a Ferrari Formula One car especially for the pope," Montezemolo told reporters on a visit to the Vatican.
The planned car would be a scaled down model of the championship-winning F2004 Formula One car. Montezemolo said that the car will be red and not some other color because "the Pope would not be best pleased to see a Ferrari that wasn't a Ferrari.”
"I had the honour of meeting His Holiness on two occasions, first of all when I was involved in organising the (football) World Cup in 1990 and then on the testing track at Fiorano where he had a ride in a Ferrari," said the Ferrari president. "That was when Ferrari were not having great success and the least I can do to show my appreciation is construct a special Ferrari car for him."
Pope John Paul II will celebrate the 26th anniversary of his election to the papcy on Saturday, October 16.