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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.

F1 redemption beckons for Vettel after miserable end at Ferrari

PARIS — Sebastian Vettel is feeling optimistic about his new Formula One career with Aston Martin after turning the page on a miserable last season with Ferrari. Things went from bad to awful for the four-time F1 champion in 2020. He had just one podium finish and ended 10 of 17 races outside the top 10 last season amid a tense atmosphere worsened by the fact Ferrari did not offer him a new contract. “The whole year was a challenge. IÂ’m obviously not happy with how last year went in terms of performance, in terms of my performance," he said. “There are things that didnÂ’t go well and things I would have liked to go differently. ItÂ’s not a secret that at stages I wasnÂ’t at my happiest." Last year was a huge fall from grace for Vettel, whose confidence was already shaken after he lost the 2017 and 2018 titles to Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, despite leading both championships at the halfway stage. A driver who still shares the F1 record with Michael Schumacher for most wins in a season — 13 with Red Bull in 2013 — and has 53 wins among his 121 podiums found himself outclassed by his junior teammate Charles Leclerc in 2019 and 2020. When Leclerc was given a lucrative new contract through 2024 — and Vettel wasn't even offered one —it became clear who was considered number one in the team. The frown lines grew deeper on Vettel's face as he finished the last three races of 2020 in 13th, 12th and 14th. “It hadnÂ’t been to my standards. IÂ’ve never really cared what people think or say, or write," Vettel said. “ThatÂ’s why itÂ’s important IÂ’m at peace with myself. (I have) very, very high expectations of myself.” He even considered retiring but a move to Aston Martin has rekindled the 33-year-old German driver's enthusiasm. “IÂ’m not too old, there are older drivers returning to the grid," he said, referring to 39-year-old Fernando Alonso. “I donÂ’t think itÂ’s an age thing, I think itÂ’s more a question of (whether) you have the team and the car around you.” The Aston Martin team runs on Mercedes engines and is owned by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, whose son Lance Stroll is the team's other driver. The plan is to make Aston Martin a title contender within three to five years. Vettel suggested the atmosphere at Aston Martin is less stuffy than it was at powerhouse Ferrari. The Italian manufacturer with its bright red car remains the most iconic name in F1 history.

Aston Martin Valkyrie gets insane 1,100-horsepower AMR Pro model

We still have yet to see the final production version of the road-going Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar, but that hasn't stopped Aston from creating an even more extreme version of the already radical car. It's called the Valkyrie AMR Pro, and it's lighter, more powerful, has more downforce, and is only for use on the track. Powering the Valkyrie AMR Pro is a version of the standard car's naturally aspirated hybrid V12. In this guise, Aston says it produces 1,100 horsepower, more than the standard car. That engine won't have much to carry around, either, since Aston is aiming to have the Valkyrie AMR Pro weight just about 1,000 kilograms, or about 2,200 pounds. To hit that weight, Aston is using lighter carbon fiber for the body, carbon fiber control arms, a lighter exhaust, polycarbonate windows, molded seats, and it has removed the HVAC fan and infotainment system. Fortunately, Aston is including heater elements in the windows so that they don't fog up in wet or cool weather. The Valkyrie AMR Pro's body shape is different, too, and it has been changed to increase downforce. It has usual changes such as large front and rear wings. It also has a tall center fin like that found on prototype and F1 race cars. The body itself is wider, too. All told, Aston expects the car to produce over 2,200 pounds of downforce. The combination of all these performance enhancements means the car can achieve a claimed top speed of 225 mph, as well as cornering forces of over 3G. Aston Martin didn't reveal pricing, but it doesn't matter. Aston already sold all 25 Valkyrie AMR Pros it will build. The company says that they'll be delivered sometime in 2020. Related Video: