Pope’s Lamborghini Huracan sells for £630,000 at auction
Proceeds of the one-off supercar signed by pontiff will go to charity
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A one-off Lamborghini Huracan created for Pope Francis has raised €715,000 (£630,000) for charity at auction.
The Italian supercar maker’s Ad Personam customisation team worked on the bespoke Huracan and donated it to the Pope last November, says Motor1.
Painted in the Vatican City flag colours of white and gold, the Pope-signed and blessed supercar was sold for over four times its original value, to an unknown buyer at RM Sotheby’s Grimaldi Forum sale in Monte Carlo on Saturday, the motoring site says.
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The proceeds of the auction, however, will not be going in Lamborghini’s pocket.
Instead, £415,000 from the sale will be donated to the Iraqi city of Nineveh, which was “besieged by Isis”, Metro reports.
The remaining money will be split equally between three charities: the Pope John XXIII Community, which helps victims of human trafficking, and two Italian associations that provide aid for women and children in Africa.
The car itself has been in storage since being handed to the Pope six months ago, and was described as being in “as-new condition” when it went on sale.
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Although the supercar was given a papal makeover, Autocar says that the vehicle’s underpinnings are the same as the rear-wheel drive Huracan LP580-2.
This includes a 5.2-litre V10 engine that can power the car to achieve 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds, and on to a top speed of 198mph.