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# The new Popemobile is a Chinese ute
- URL: https://torquecafe.com/car-news-fiat-titano-popemobile/
- Published: 2026-10-26T04:04:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-26T04:04:42.000Z
- Description: Ahead of His Holiness’s upcoming trip to Uruguay, the Latin American division of Fiat has revealed the latest ‘Popemobile’.
- Author: Jordan Mulach
- Tags: News

Pope Leo XIV is as American as the head of the Catholic Church can get, so what better way to welcome him to your country than by carting him around in a pickup?

Ahead of the Chicago native's visit to Uruguay, the Latin American arm of automotive conglomerate Stellantis has revealed the latest Popemobile, based on the Fiat Titano.

Based on China’s Changan F70 and built in a factory in Argentina, the Titano is one of the many rebadged F70s sold in the region, alongside the Peugeot Landtrek and the [Ram Dakota.](https://torquecafe.com/ram-dakota-unveiled-south-america/)

![The new Uruguayan Popemobile: a Fiat Titano pickup](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/b3/a9b3e204-3117-4792-9a32-46184029df44/content/images/2026/10/fiat-titano-popemobile-1.jpg)

Pope Leo XIV will be carted around in a Fiat Titano through Uruguay

This particular version was modified for the papal visit by local specialists Nordex, based in Montevideo, where Uruguayan engineers undertook the necessary works to carry His Holiness.

These include open sides at the rear, a height-adjustable swivel seat with height adjustment, additional rear seats for his security detail, powered steps and a red carpet leading into the bed.

Protection is minimal, with a ‘transparent cover’ fitted in case of sub-optimal weather, though the leather-wrapped handrails leading up into the seat may not be as suitable in rainy conditions.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/b3/a9b3e204-3117-4792-9a32-46184029df44/content/images/2026/10/2026-ram-dakota-1.jpg)

The Ram Dakota is another Changan F70-based ute for Latin America

Powered by a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, capable of producing 149kW and 450Nm, it’s not the fastest Popemobile ever, but it’ll do the job for its precessional requirements.

It’s also not the flashiest Popemobile even in recent history, with that title surely going to the Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology (electric G-Wagen) which resides at the Vatican, while the late Pope Francis was carried to his resting place in a Ram 1500.

[Earlier this year](https://torquecafe.com/the-popes-unlikely-new-daily-driver/), Ford CEO Jim Farley gifted Pope Leo XIV a new Ford Explorer Platinum hybrid, customised for His Holiness and to celebrate the links between him, the SUV and Chicago where it was made.