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MOTORING M4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 MAY 2018 LAMBORGHINI gifted a Huracán RWD Coupé to the Pope last year, and made sure it matched His Holiness in appearance and class. It has a white paint job contrasted by stripes and detailing in the Vatican City flag colours, and is trimmed in white leather and signed by the Pope on the hood. And because popes don't get a lot of chances to hit the open road, it's in "vir- tually as-new condition" af- ter being in storage since late 2017. The Huracán RWD was sold for the astonishing figure of €715,000 at the RM Sotheby auction held on May 12 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, coinciding with the Historic Grand Prix. The proceeds from the sale will be directly handed over to the Holy Father, who has decided to set it aside for four charity entities: the Pontifical Foundation "Aiuto alla Chiesa che Soffre" (Aid to the Church in Need) to rebuild the Nin- eveh Plain in Iraq in order to guarantee the Christians' re- turn thanks to the rebuilding of housing, public structures and places of worship; the Pope John XXIII Commu- nity, which devotes itself to women victims of trade and prostitution on the tenth an- niversary of the death of Don Oreste Benzi and on the 50th anniversary of the Commu- nity's foundation, "Progetto Casa Papa Francesco" (Pope Francis House Project); two Italian associations that carry out activities above all in Af- rica, GICAM headed by Mar- co Lanzetta (hand surgeon) and "Amici per il Centrafrica" (Friends of Central Africa), which has been working with projects primarily dedicated to women and children for years. The Huracán RWD was per- sonally autographed by Pope Francis during the presenta- tion ceremony at the Vatican City on November 27, 2017 in the presence of Stefano Domenicali, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Automobili Lamborghini, a delegation of the company's Management Board and two workers who contributed to the car's construction. Pope Francis' Huracán auctioned o for charity Royal wedding cars of the world We take a look at some of the top royal wedding cars of all time Aston Martin DB6 Mk2 Volante Lexus LS 600h L Landaulet Bentley State Limousine Lincoln Continental Volvo XC90 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur limo Forget Pippa Middleton's dress, this was the star of William and Kate's wedding. The happy couple used the Aston Martin DB6 Mk2 Volante – complete with 'JU5T WED' rear number plate – to travel from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House. The DB6 was a 21st birthday present from the Queen to Prince Charles, and it was William's idea to drive his bride away from the official reception in the old Aston. Lexus built a unique LS 600h Landaulet with a one-piece transparent polycarbonate roof to serve as the official royal wedding car of Prince Albert of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock. The conversion was carried out by Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet, with the project taking more than 2,000 hours to complete. According to Lexus, the roof presented the biggest challenge, being a single piece with no reinforcements or pillars. The Bentley State Limousine was presented to the Queen in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of her succession to the throne. It's based on the Arnage, but Mulliner extended the wheelbase to make more room for passengers in the back, while it's also wider and taller than a production Arnage, to allow the Queen to enter and exit the vehicle in a dignified manner. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh used the cosmetically-challenged Bentley for William and Kate's wedding. The Lincoln Continental is more associated with presidential motorcades than wedding days, but the luxo-American car has carried more happy couples than you might think. Back in 1968, a Continental was the choice of transport when the King of Norway arrived at Oslo Cathedral with his future daughter-in-law Sonja Haraldsen. A 1961 Lincoln Continental was also used by Crown Prince Hamzah of Jordan and his bride at their wedding in 2012. The picture shows a Continental adapted for Pope Paul VI, and the Chicago parade vehicle for the Apollo 8, 11, 13 and 15 astronauts. In 2011, it sold at a Bonhams auction for £155,167. We continue our royal tour of the world in Sweden, specifically the wedding between Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist in 2015. Guests were chauffeured from airports and hotels to the ceremony in Slottskyrkan in a fleet of Volvo XC90 courtesy cars, each one finished in Luminous Sand paint. The Sultan of Brunei is famous for his love of cars, laying claim to a collection worth more than $4 billion. At a cost of $14 million, this custom-built Silver Spur limo is one of the most eye-catching, not to mention expensive, cars in the Sultan's collection. And, yes, that is 24-carat gold plating. When his son, Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, married in 2014, he embarked on a five-mile parade across Brunei's capital.