Devaluation strikes 'Pope's car'

The car has undergone a makeover since this earlier appearance

A car said to have been owned by the Pope has remained unsold at auction after failing to match its sale price of two years ago.

The eBay auction of the 1999 metallic gray Volkswagen Golf closed on Saturday without it reaching a reserve in excess of a bid of $204,000 (£102,000).

It was not known what reserve the owner - a US online casino - had set.

Golden Palace casino paid about $244,000 to the previous owner, a German who got it for just $13,500.

Licence

Golden Palace said the hatchback, which now has "Pope Benedict Mobile" and adverts on its body, said that German documents listed a former owner as Josef Kardinal Ratzinger.

EBay said it had verified that Pope Benedict XVI did own the car before he became pontiff.

Golden Palace had been prepared to give 40% of the proceeds to a charity and pay for shipment from England to its new owner.

The first auction had seen frenzied bidding, with the price doubling in the last 24 hours.

Sources at the time of the first sale suggested the Pope had not driven the car and did not have a driving licence.

His private secretary was said to have bought the car for him in southern Germany, before taking it to the cardinal's residence in Rome and registering it in his name.