Highlights
- First registered as OY18BVC
- Royal Family’s first electric car
- Purchased with the Kings own money
- The only I-Pace to be produced in Loire Blue
Royal Heritage
Purchased by HM King Charles III in April 2018 this range topping EV400 HSE Jaguar I-Pace was not only Jaguars first foray into Electric cars but the first electric car supplied to the Royal Family. Presented with the registration OY18 BVC and provided direct from Jaguar UK for his personal use, the car was as we understand, initially in Eiger Grey, a popular color for the 2018 year, however, his majesty insisted the car must be in his favorite color of Loire Blue thus it was returned to Jaguar for a color change and remains the only I-Pace to be produced in this color.
Seen on footage we also can see that blue lights were installed likely by the JLR special vehicles department which is common with Royal Vehicles and can be seen in photos. We are informed that in its time with the Royal Household not only did Charles drive the car but also the Queen and other royals such as Megan Markle have been photographed being driven in the I-Pace.
The Jaguar charger was installed at his official London residence, Clarence House and on many occasions the then Prince was photographed in the car with one specific occasion on September 15th 2018 arriving at the Royal Albert Hall, where there is a video of him on YouTube exiting out of the car with the number plate in full view as the car approaches. He was heard to reply to a shouted question that the car was ‘silent but deadly’.
Remaining in Royal ownership until December 2021 it was returned to Jaguar with a little under 3,000 miles on the clock, the registration number was removed (common practice with Royal cars) and age related OU18 VLW was assigned before the car was offered for sale with Marshall Jaguar of Oxford, as per protocol, Jaguar didn’t advertise its provenance but was made available for resale via the approved dealers.
When our vendor saw the advert for an Eiger Grey I-Pace with the specification she desired, she traveled to Oxford Jaguar, but the details naturally had to be explained, notwithstanding the advert still held the production color as JLR’s system had not updated the specification and clearly this was in Blue, not Grey. Not only was this unsurprisingly a ‘fully loaded’ I-Pace, it was in a color she loved and with the added provenance that she would be driving around in Prince Charles’ I-Pace it was not a difficult decision, however it is stressed this was a private purchase with no thought of future values but more of the amazing specification and buzz of owning an ex-royal car!
Having now owned the car and having maintained with Jaguar main dealers since 2020 this example is (less the blue lights) as it was in 2018, indeed it still retains a Jaguar Warranty until October this year, the mileage is little over 35,000 miles and the Light Oyster Windsor trim is in lovely condition throughout, just one former keeper on the logbook and has quite clearly been the pride and joy our lady owner and in full working order, even boasting a nice Jaguar bespoke fitted cover. Supplied with the V5 registration document, original purchase invoice from Marshall Jaguar this 294kW/90kWh example which has a full Jaguar service history and details of the extended warranty.
Not only has this been owned by HM King Charles III, purchased with his own money but it was the first electric car owned by the Royal Family, the Jaguar I-Pace is also due to be discontinued before Jaguars all electric relaunch in 2025 so thus will become more collectable as a car in its own right. A pivotal moment in motoring is the seed change from combustion to electric vehicles and his ownership will long be thought of as a statement purchase by someone who has championed and been one of the world leading campaigners for climate change. Royal vehicles of such note usually see a significant uplift of over 4x the vehicle’s value, so at this estimate, it looks like an incredible opportunity not only to own a piece of motoring heritage, nay history, but it could also be a fantastic future investment…… Consignor Mathew Priddy.
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All Photos © Max Mumby/Indigo – Getty Images
