A person films a sculpture of the late South Africa's anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu, who would have turned 92 years old on Oct 7, at the Desmond and Leah Tutu building in Cape Town, South Africa, Oct 6, 2023. (PHOTO / REUTERS)

CAPE TOWN - South Africa's anti-apartheid hero Desmond Tutu could have chosen practically any car in the world when billionaire Warren Buffett offered to buy him a vehicle.

But in 2008, the archbishop picked a modest Toyota Corolla with manual transmission over the luxury BMWs and Mercedes Benz favored by government ministers. He gave the cash left over from the US investor's present to the poor.

The Desmond Tutu Intellectual Property Trust, which manages his legacy, has put the old car on show along with his books and possessions in honor of Tutu's 92nd birthday, which he would have celebrated on Saturday.

Late South Africa's anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu's Toyota Corolla, a manual transmission vehicle that was chosen by Desmond Tutu when billionaire Warren Buffett offered to buy him a car, is displayed at the Desmond and Leah Tutu building as part of an exhibition honoring the icon who would have turned 92 years old on Oct 7, in Cape Town, South Africa, Oct 6, 2023. (PHOTO / REUTERS)

"We hope this lesson ... by the Arch about us not being tempted by opulence, by being sensitive to the least amongst us is the takeaway people (who have) seen that car will make," Trust chairperson Mamphela Ramphele told Reuters, referring to Tutu by his nickname.

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"We cannot but keep that prophetic voice alive to remind us that we can be better, as he would tell us, that we are designed for better things," Ramphele said.

The car, displayed in Cape Town, the city where the archbishop lived for most of his later life, became a symbol of Tutu's values.

People look at an exhibition honoring late South Africa's anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu at the Desmond and Leah Tutu building, as the icon would have turned 92 years old on Oct 7, in Cape Town, South Africa, Oct 6, 2023. (PHOTO / REUTERS)

Late South Africa's anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu, who would have turned 92-years-old on Oct 7, is depicted as a sculpture swinging from a chandelier at the Desmond and Leah Tutu building in Cape Town, South Africa, Oct 6, 2023. (PHOTO / REUTERS)

Former president Nelson Mandela, who died in December 2013, described his long-time friend as "the voice of the voiceless".

Desmond Mpilo Tutu, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his non-violent opposition to white minority rule, died in 2021.

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Widely revered across South Africa's racial and cultural divides for his moral integrity, Tutu never stopped fighting for his vision of a "Rainbow Nation" in which all races in post-apartheid South Africa could live in harmony.