Biden's Cadillac, Charles' Jag go up for auction
Given a chance, would you rather a sporty Cadillac once driven by the sitting president of the United States; or a stately Jag that was the one-time property of King Charles III? In an odd twist of provenance, both opportunities are now available for purchase out in the wild, for gearheads seeking to act out a bit of high-roller cosplay.
Up for auction on the Cars & Bids platform is a one-of-one Cadillac once leased by President Joe Biden — and it has an excellent list of options. The slick-looking ATS-V sedan packs a 3.6 litre twin-turbocharged V-6 engine, a mill which can belt out 464 horsepower and rip to highway speeds from a standstill in under four seconds. While fury is funnelled to the ground via an eight-speed automatic, at least all of it goes to the rear wheels.
Best of all, this is a true one-off special from Cadillac, as it is the sole example which rolled off the line in this spec with the handsome Kona Brown interior. The car also features: bronze 18-inch wheels from a CT4-V Blackwing (the original wheels were kept and are part of the deal); a unique front grille from an outfit called Rennick Performance; and black badges for an especially menacing look. We'll note those windows might be tinted, but they 're not bulletproof. Hey, this isn't The Beast itself, after all.
The seller, a dealer in Delaware, says this Caddy has about 16,000 miles (25,750 kilometres), about three-quarters of which were accumulated by Biden during the time it was in his hands.
Sure, this car slides between Biden's time in the White House, predating his presidency, but also showing up after he served as veep to Barack Obama — but just about any vehicle even remotely adjacent to someone who is or has been sitting in the Oval Office tends to command a premium. As of this writing, the bid for this car is sitting at US$38,000, with five days (again, at the time of writing) remaining before the hammer drops.
Just this past week, Biden was on Jay Leno's Garage, where he took his presidential '67 Corvette smallblock — wow, that's a phrase — up to 118 m.p.h. (190 km/h) during a drag race with Michael Powell, son of the late secretary of state Colin Powell.
KING CHARLES III'S JAGUAR I-PACE
Meanwhile, a very special Jaguar I-pace has popped up cross the pond. Showing as a 2018 model in HSE trim, the EV was originally purchased by HM King Charles III, and served as the Royal Family's first foray into electric vehicles.
Interestingly, and perhaps in a fit of good PR, it is said the King bought this car with his own money, meaning no publicly funded coffers were raided in order to fulfil the purchase order. We idly wonder if it is weird for Charles to spend money bearing the face of his own mom. Anyway.
Like the Caddy, this all-electric car wasn't under the stewardship of its famous owner during their current station in life, with the Jag being part of Charles' duties whilst he was a royal prince, and not “Charles R,” as he is now officially known.
While the Jag was bought by the King, it was apparently used to shuttle around other royals, including HM Queen Elizabeth II. It remained with the family until December 2021, at which time it found its way back to Jaguar with just 3,000 miles (4,800 km) under its belt. At that time, it was purchased by a private individual who put on tenfold the number of miles.
Said owner is now electing to shift the thing through a U.K. auction house called Historics Auctioneers. Unlike the Cars & Bids platform, this outfit doesn't show current prices, but expect this car to fetch somewhere between 55,000 and 70,000 pounds (roughly CDN$95,000 to CDN$120,000).
Which one would you prefer?