Riding in a glass enclosed box atop a silver Mazda, the Pope created quite a stir when he arrived at North Sydney Oval during a World Youth Day event earlier this year.

But it was not Pope Benedict XVI, sitting on the roof of Ian Bryce's car, rather it was a manequin pontiff complete with gold satellite phone and the words "broadband link to my invisible friend" that caught the attention of police soon after it arrived.

Bryce's "Popemobile" which he knocked up over two weeks with the help of his friends as a "light-hearted" alternative to the beliefs of the Catholic Church, was issued with a defect notice for "having a roof ornament likely to distract motorists."

Bryce, 59, from Rozelle, was also slapped with an $81 fine and charged with using a vehicle that did not comply with standards as a result of the Popemobile protest which was organised by the NoToPope coalition.

The State Government had passed laws to give police extraordinary powers to arrest and fine people for "creating annoyance" to pilgrims during World Youth Day. However parts of these laws were overturned by the Federal Court following widespread protest.

Bryce's legal representatives from the NSW Council for Civil Liberties yesterday told the Downing Centre Local Court that the case could not proceed until police provided further details of the charges.

Outside court his lawyer, Stephen Blanks, said the charge did not seem "particularly appropriate" given the condition in which police found the car.

"The police are being particularly intelligent in trying to find a way to prosecute Mr Bryce," he said.

Bryce said police had detained his Popemobile for about an hour "going through a range of possible charges on the radio to headquarters."

"I was very surprised [by the charge] because I thought that all advertising is designed to distract.

"We have scrolling billboards in the city, and mobile billboards driving around. The regulations say nothing about distraction."

The Popemobile has since found a new home on the back of a white ute which Bryce hopes to show at the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras next year.