2007 Bentley Gt Coupe Silver Tempest/portland 20 Wheels 14,600 Miles on 2040-cars

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King Charles' electric I-Pace goes to auction next month

Never mind the Bentley State Limousines, the Aston Martin DB6 Volante that Queen Elizabeth II bought him on his 21st birthday, or the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI valued at more than $600,000. The car of the moment, if we’re talking about the garage of King Charles III of England, is a far more ordinary — and all-electric — Jaguar I-Pace purchased in 2018 by His Majesty “for his personal use." The royal Jag is set to be auctioned off March 2 at the famed Ascot Racecourse; estimated selling price is as high as $88,000. If you miss out on the auction of a president's former ride, here's one from a king. The SUV, notable as the first all-electric vehicle to be embraced by the royal family, is the range-topping I-Pace EV400 HSE all-wheel-drive luxury five-seater that the king — prince of Wales at the time — bought in September 2018 for $75,000. According to the auction site, the Jag was "purchased with his own money." Charles had Jaguar install a fast charger at Clarence House, his residence. The vehicle was returned to a Jaguar dealership after two years — itÂ’s not clear if it had been leased — with only 3,000 miles on the clock. Subsequently, the SUV was sold to one Karen French of Oxfordshire. She said in a statement offered by Historics Auctioneers, “This I-Pace was exactly what I was looking for and pretty much on my doorstep. It was only when I agreed to buy it that I discovered its extraordinary history — I was absolutely thrilled. Having driven it over 30,000 miles,” she added, ”I decided in the New Year that it was time for a change.” Noted by the auctioneers in typical British understatement, the high-specification car was uniquely finished in Loire Blue and remains the only I-Pace “to be painted in this colour, whilst those inside the car enjoyed a sumptuous, contrasting leather interior in, fittingly, Light Oyster Windsor.” A revised Jaguar I-Pace is scheduled to arrive next year. Regarding the KingÂ’s affection for automobiles — British automobiles — he reportedly overseas a fleet worth more than $17 million. And while heÂ’s fond of driving conventional vehicles, he told the BBC some years ago that “my old Aston Martin, which I've had for 51 years, runs on — can you believe this — surplus English white wine, and whey from the cheese process.” Essentially the classic had been converted to run on E85 bio-ethanol. "The engineers at Aston said, 'Oh, it'll ruin the whole thing,'" Charles shared with The Telegraph in 2018.

Autoblog Minute: Frankfurt Motor Show recap

We check in with Autoblog staffers in Germany for a recap of the biggest reveals from the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. Autoblog's Adam Morath reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute with commentary from senior editor, Greg Migliore. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] As the doors of the Frankfurt Motor Show open to the world's press we venture across the Atlantic for a front row seat to all the action. I'm Adam Morath and this is your Autoblog Minute. The fall auto show season kicks off this week and Germany is set to play host. We're expecting plenty of big vehicle reveals and industry news to come out of Frankfurt. [00:00:30] [Greg Migliore Interview] [00:01:00] Be sure to check in with Autoblog for tons of great photos, video and editorial coverage on all things Frankfurt. For Autoblog, I'm Adam Morath. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Frankfurt Motor Show Bentley Jaguar Mercedes-Benz SUV Concept Cars Electric Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video

2023 Bentley Bentayga Road Test: 'Airline' spec is the way to travel

After nearly a week rolling around town in the 2023 Bentley Bentayga, enjoying its power, comfort and the ability to make a grand entrance basically anywhere, it dawns on me that I’m doing this wrong. Yes, the V8 is great, but of course it is. The story is in the back seat. IÂ’m testing an extended wheelbase Bentayga Azure First Edition outfitted with the Airline Seat Specification. ItÂ’s business class, plain and simple. As darkness falls, I make up a cheese plate and head to the backseat, placing my charcuterie on the veneered picnic trays below the 10.1-inch screens. Leaning back on the pillowy headrest, I feel like IÂ’m about to settle in for a cushy trans-Atlantic flight. ThereÂ’s so much room. The wheelbase extends 7 inches beyond the standard Bentayga and thereÂ’s enough space to do calf stretches. The First Edition offers Diamond Illumination on the door panels and the purple ambient lighting casts a royal glow. ItÂ’s not as dramatic as the Starry Night Sky in the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, but with 22 LEDs shimmering through leather perforations, it is rather cosmic.  The Airline spec seats are the other part of the BentaygaÂ’s charm, with 22 possible ways to calibrate positions. Sure, you can cue up any number of massages, but you can do that in many Jeeps. BentleyÂ’s seats also offer a Postural Adjustment System that is said to apply up to 177 pressure changes over a three-hour period to keep you comfy. Dialing into work meetings with my feet up, I enjoyed it, mostly. I didnÂ’t stay there for three hours, but for my roughly one-hour stint, the adjustments were generally appreciated (I could have updated my Google calendar location to ‘BentleyÂ’, but that seemed pretentious). The cupholders are solid, too. Bentley moved the sunroof back about 5 inches to further focus on the rear passengers, and itÂ’s an airy setting, especially when reclined. ThereÂ’s also an auto climate function that adjusts the surface temperature. After playing around with the many settings, I eventually found the one that pushed the front passengerÂ’s seat all the way forward, a footstool extended down and I leaned back for a brief rest.  Different Bentayga EWB pictured So I did actually drive a Bentley for a week, and it offers a certain gravitas both in motion and at rest. The 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 supplies plenty of power to the tune of 542 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque, and it will get you and your passengers to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, should the need arise.