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Industry > Altruism

Want to donate to charity for a chance to win this car?

A Lamborghini Huracán said to have been blessed by Pope Francis

Can the Pope’s blessing ward off stupid drivers? PHOTO FROM LAMBORGHINI

So, remember when Lamborghini gifted Pope Francis with a special Huracán last year? That car was supposedly auctioned earlier this year for a good cause, via RM Sotheby’s, with the winning bid being €715,000 (P43 million). Apparently, however, the sale wasn’t consummated. And so the same car is now being used to potentially help charities through the fundraising platform Omaze.

Instead of bidding, those wishing to own this Holy Huracán—which sports the colors of the Vatican—simply donate on the fundraising website to qualify for some raffle of sorts. A minimum $10 (P530) donation gives you 100 entries to the raffle, while a maximum $5,000 (P265,000) handout gets you 50,000 entries.

According to Omaze, the retail value of the car is $825,000 (P43.8 million).

Your boss may have a Huracán, but was it autographed and consecrated by the Pope? PHOTOS FROM LAMBORGHINI

The Papal Lamborghini sweepstakes actually started on December 4 and will end on January 30, 2019 (the last day you can donate and thus enter the raffle). Whoever wins the car—which was “blessed and autographed by Pope Francis”—will be flown to the Vatican (together with one companion) to receive the keys from the Pope himself and Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali.

You may read the full details of the fundraising lottery here.

Is Omaze legit? It seems to be, with many famous celebrities having already partnered with the organization for several worthy causes. The founders of the group figured that fundraising campaigns would be able to put together larger amounts of money if they adopted a raffle system instead of the traditional auction, which limits the final sum of the donation to the highest bid from a solitary source. Also, auctions tend to always favor bidders with the biggest resources, automatically disqualifying those who have no means to engage in a ruthless bidding war.

Pope Francis and Stefano Domenicali will turn over the car to the fortunate winner. PHOTOS FROM LAMBORGHINI

A caveat: The winner must not be a resident of Belgium, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Singapore, Sudan, Syria or Thailand. “In certain countries, local rules and laws may restrict or prohibit the award and/or the delivery of certain prizes, or impose additional restrictions,” Omaze explains. So even if you’re Filipino, you’re barred from winning the prize if you reside in any of the aforementioned countries. It pays to stay in the Philippines and put up with all the shit remain true to the motherland.

So…want to get a chance—admittedly infinitesimal, but sill a chance—to own a Lamborghini Huracán that has been personally “sanctified” by the Pope? You know what you’ve got to do.



Vernon B. Sarne

Vernon is the founder and editor-in-chief of VISOR. He has been an automotive journalist for 26 years. He became one by serendipity, walking into the office of a small publishing company and applying for a position he had no idea was for a local car magazine. God has watched over him throughout his humble journey. He writes the ‘Spoiler’ column.



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