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Check out King Charles III's $17.6 million car collection

King Charles III's coronation will take place in England on May 6, and being crowned a monarch comes with a long list of perks with four wheels. He will gain full access to the Royal Family's fleet of cars, which is valued at about GBP14 million (approximately $17.6 million). The two most expensive cars in the collection are nearly identical: they're a pair of Bentley State Limousine models (pictured) built for Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III's mother, in 2002. Only two units were made, and they're both part of the Royal Family's fleet, so they're difficult to put a value on; it's not like one is going to end up listed on your favorite auction site anytime soon. British company Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, which compiled the list, estimates that each armored, 245-inch long sedan is worth at least GBP10,000,000 (roughly $12.6 million). Dropping below the eight-digit threshold, the second-most-valuable car in the Royal Family's fleet isn't really a car. It's the Gold State Coach, which Matchbox recently released a 1/64-scale replica of, and its value is estimated at GBP1.6 million (about $2 million). At 275 inches long it's even bigger than the Bentley limousine and it weighs about 9,000 pounds. It's 261 years old and designed to be pulled by eight horses, and has been part of every coronation since 1831. The rest of the Royal Family's vehicles are relatively mundane. There's a 1965 Aston Martin DB6 Volante that Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Phillip, bought for King Charles III on his 21st birthday. It's worth GBP1 million (about $1.2 million). The collection also includes a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI (about $627,000), a Bentley Bentayga (about $201,000), a Land Rover Range Rover long-wheelbase Landaulet ($133,000), a Jaguar XE (about $41,000), and a Land Rover Defender ($38,000). "Luxury cars have long been associated with the monarch and King Charles III, in particular, is known for his fondness of motor vehicles. His impressive collection features sentimental value with motors passed down from his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, to cars bought for him by his parents," explained Keith Hawes, the director of Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, in an interview with CBS News. Being at the head of a car-making nation's royal family also comes with drawbacks: Every vehicle in King Charles III's fleet is British.

40+ cars that barely avoid the gas guzzler tax

The Gas Guzzler schedule, with mpg ratings and charges that haven't changed since 1991, lays out which fuel-swillers owe what to Uncle Sam.
I started thinking about the "Gas Guzzler Tax" - considerably less well known as The Energy Tax Act of 1978 - when I was driving Dodge's new Challenger SRT Hellcat last week. Unsurprisingly for a car that can burn 1.5 gallons of gas per minute at max tilt, theoretically able to empty a full tank of premium in about 13 minutes, the Hellcat will be subject to the Gas Guzzler Tax schedule when it goes on sale.

Bentley's next continuation car is its 1929-30 Le Mans winner

Bentley's Mulliner division will resurrect the Speed Six as its second continuation project. Announced on the sidelines of the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the born-again classic will be nearly identical to the cars that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1929 and 1930. Continuation cars remain a significant source of controversy among enthusiasts; Ralph Lauren is one of the high-profile collectors who wrote an angry letter to Bentley after the firm announced plans to make 12 replicas of the four 1929 Team Blower models. The criticism didn't dent the model's popularity; all 12 units were spoken for in record time, and this success encouraged Bentley to bring the Speed Six back to life. Why the Speed Six? It's one of the most important models in Bentley's history, according to the company's archives department, largely due to its success at Le Mans. It was an evolution of the 6 1/2 -Litre model whose 6.5-liter straight-six engine was tuned to develop about 180 horsepower, a huge number in the 1920s. It was offered with three different wheelbases, and 182 examples were made between 1928 and 1930. Only a small handful of those were modified for racing; they were built on a 132-inch wheelbase and fitted with a 200-horsepower six. Bentley started the continuation project by sourcing two of the original cars. One is the third of three units that raced at Le Mans in 1930, and it's been nicknamed Old Number Three. It's in private hands. The second is a 1929 model that's part of the carmaker's collection and that has previously received a full restoration. Mulliner has completed a 3D CAD model of the Speed Six using those cars and period documents. Pricing for the Speed Six continuation car starts at GBP1.5 million, a sum that represents about $1.8 million at the current conversion rate. Production is limited to 12 units, and collectors scooped up the entire batch before the project was announced to the public. Bentley will begin building the first car, which is not part of the 12 and which will be used as a testing and engineering mule, in the second half of 2022.   Featured Gallery Bentley Speed Six View 12 Photos Bentley Automotive History Convertible Luxury Racing Vehicles Performance Classics Goodwood Goodwood Festival of Speed