King Charles’s First EV Is Heading to Auction

An EV with a royal pedigree is about to go up for grabs.

A 2018 Jaguar I-Pace once owned by King Charles III will be sold by Historics Auctioneers in the U.K. later this month. The crossover, which was bought with the then-prince’s own money, has the distinction of being the royal family’s first EV.

Jaguar’s unique-looking electric hatchback made quite the entrance back in 2018, earning rave reviews and other plaudits, including the 2019 World Car of the Year award. It may have been a bit ahead of its time, though. The crossover has been overshadowed by the flood of more stylish and better-performing EVs that have flooded the market in the years since its release. Sales have become so sluggish, that Jaguar, which is in the process of remaking itself as an EV-only brand, has announced it will be discontinued after next year.

Despite this, the car is a natural fit for King Charles. The royal is a committed environmentalist, so it makes sense that he’d want to buy the first mass-produced, zero-emission model built by one of the U.K.’s premier automakers. He seems to have enjoyed the vehicle, once telling a crowd of onlookers it was “silent but deadly,” according to the auction listing. The then-prince wasn’t the only royal to spend time in the vehicle, either. His mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, and his daughter-in-law, Meghan Markle, have both been driven in the car as well. Charles owned the EV for three years, at which point it was returned to Jaguar with just under 3,000 miles on the odometer.

In addition to having been owned by the U.K.’s current monarch, this I-Pace also comes in a unique color scheme. Although the crossover left the factory in Eiger Grey, it was repainted, at Charles’s request, in Loire Blue. It is the only example of the EV ever finished in the color, which is said to be the king’s personal favorite. The car is “fully loaded” and comes with some modifications, like the blue lights common on the family’s cars. There’s no mention of the powertrain but the stock 2018 setup includes a pair of electric motors that produce a combined 395 hp and 596 ft lbs of torque. As impressive as output may be, the vehicle’s 246-mile range leaves something to be desired, especially by today’s standards.

Interested in adding a king’s EV to your collection? Charles’s old I-Pace is scheduled to hit the block on March 2, at the Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England. Historics expects the EV to sell for between £55,000 (about $69,500) and £70,000 ($88,500), which isn’t bad considering the vehicle started at $70,000 brand new.

Click here for more photos of King Charles’s former Jaguar I-Pace