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You can buy the Queen's Bentley Mulsanne for $285,000

Want to feel like a king or queen driving around town? You'll want a Bentley. After all, the British automaker furnished the royal household of Queen Elizabeth II with the bespoke State Limousine, and delivered the very first new Bentayga to Her Majesty as well. But if you're keen to get a little closer to that sovereign feeling, might we suggest buying the Queen's own Bentley – namely, the Mulsanne you see here. Listed for sale on Auto Trader by a dealership in Surrey, this particular Bentley Mulsanne was reportedly used exclusively by the British monarch from 2012 to 2014. She's said to have used it during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations that marked her 60th year of reign four years ago, as well as for a visit to Prime Minister David Cameron's office at 10 Downing Street for his inaugural cabinet meeting. We wouldn't be surprised if she took over the wheel from her chauffeur from time to time, either. The Muslanne is said to have only 5,826 miles on the odometer – 5,000 of which was racked up in Her Majesty's service, secret or otherwise. On that note, there is no mention of 007-esque gadgetry or basic armoring you might expect from a head of state's car. Provenance aside, this being a Mulsanne, it's motivated by Bentley's ancient 6.75-liter V8, not the gauche 6.0-liter W12 or 4.0-liter V8 in the nouveau riche Continental. It's done up in classic dark green with a tan leather interior and walnut burr veneer trim, and can be yours for GBP199,850 – or $285k at today's exchange rates. Of course you could pick up a new one for not much more, but then you wouldn't be riding around in the Queen's own wheels, now would you? Related Video: Featured Gallery 2012 Bentley Mulsanne - ex-Queen Elizabeth II News Source: Auto Trader Bentley Car Buying Luxury Sedan bentley mulsanne queen elizabeth ii

Top London design students imagine Bentley in 2050

Imagination is the birthplace of good design. Shapes, curves, and edges are formulated inside an artist's mind before spilling onto a sketchbook page and taking shape as an automobile. The Royal College of Art in London aims to nurture this within its mobility students. In a recent project, vehicle design students of the MA Intelligent Mobility program brainstormed how the future of Bentley Motors would transpire in physical form. The challenge asked, "What will British luxury mean in 2050?" In total, 24 designer hopefuls turned in designs to a judging panel of RCA teachers and members of the Bentley design team. These same teachers also helped the students throughout the process. Of the 24, only four designs were plucked and highlighted, seen in the concept sketches above. Eunji Choi's "Elegant Autonomy," which looks like a mesh between a luxury yacht and a grand piano, took a high-class approach to what driverless cars might look like. Jack Watson's "Stratospheric Grand Touring," the teardrop pod on legs, makes note that without the worry of travel difficulties, home could be literally anywhere. Irene Chiu's "Luxury Soundscapes," seen from the overhead and cockpit views, reimagines a car's cabin as a tranquil safe space. Kate NamGoong's "Material Humanity," which most resembles a current-age car while invoking historic Bentley design, offers a future where the way to stand out from the crowd will be to occasionally drive a combustion engine like "the old days." The rarity of such an engine will form a niche for craft exposed engines, much like is true of high-end watches. We think we like that one best *wink*. The intent for the Intelligent Mobility program is to lead the proclaimed third age of automotive design. It is meant to work toward a future of interconnected megacities, flying cars, driverless vehicles, and sustainable energy and materials. The biggest problem with the future? It'll have new innovations and worse problems even the human mind not be able to imagine. Related Video: Featured Gallery Future of Bentley, Royal College of Art View 16 Photos News Source: Royal College of Art Design/Style Green Bentley Autonomous Vehicles Luxury

Felicity Ace sinks with thousands of VWs, Porsches, Lamborghinis

The stricken ship Felicity Ace sank overnight after a week of salvage efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful. The ship, which was carrying up to 4,000 VW Group cars, went to the bottom unexpectedly while a salvage team was attempting to tow it to shore, Bloomberg reports.  "Initial reports from the local salvage team state that the vessel had sunk at around 9AM local time having suffered a list to starboard," Mitsui O.S.K. Lines transportation company (MOL), which owns the Felicity Ace, said in a statement released early Tuesday.    "The last vessel position was around 220nm off the Azores," MOL said. "The salvage crafts will remain around the area to monitor the situation. Further information will be provided as it becomes available." The ship sank after being battered by waves and listing 45 degrees to starboard, the ship’s operator said. “The weather was pretty rough out there,” Pat Adamson, a spokesperson for MOL Ship Management (Singapore), a unit of Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd., said by phone. “And then she sank, which was a surprise.” VW, Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini-branded models were aboard the ship, which was headed to Rhode Island from GermanyÂ’s Emden port when the fire broke out on Feb. 16.  Rough seas and ongoing fires fueled by the lithium-ion batteries of EVs onboard delayed the ship's salvage and recovery operations for the better part of a week. While the likelihood of salvaging the smoke and potentially fire- and water-damaged vehicles from Felicity Ace's hold was slim to none, some had held out hope that their special-ordered vehicles might survive the mishap.  The Panama-flagged Felicity Ace was safely evacuated of its 22 crew members by the Portuguese navy after a fire started in its hold more than a week ago. The ship can carry up to 4,000 cars. European carmakers declined to discuss how many vehicles and what models were on board, but it appears to have been transporting approximately 2,500 cars, including roughly 1,100 Porsches and an undetermined number of Volkswagens.  The cars aboard were on order. Porsche customers in the United States were being contacted by their dealers, the company said. “We are already working to replace every car affected by this incident and the first new cars will be built soon,” Angus Fitton, vice president of PR at Porsche Cars North America, Inc., told The Associated Press in an email. The ship sank in water nearly 10,000 feet deep, the Portuguese Navy said.