Putting in a bid for the Range Rover Evoque

Not content with being married to England rugby hero Mike Tindall, Zara Philips also took delivery of another object of desire earlier this month. She's the proud owner of the very first new Range Rover Evoque -- 2.2 litre in Stornaway Grey.

But with the first year's allocation of the must-have model already sold out, the options for everyone else seem to be restricted to grand theft auto or good old-fashioned patience.

If those pictures of Zara posing outside Burghley House with her Range Rover Evoque made you green with envy, you could head over to the Natural History Museum next month. The Museum is hosting the London Press Club Ball on 13 October and a Range Rover Evoque is one of the prizes in the charity auction.

Modestly described as a "glittering upmarket event", the London Press Club Ball will see more than 400 leading journalists, executives and VIPs raising money for the Journalists' Charity.

Jaguar Land Rover is the automotive sponsor of the event, so it makes sense that a year’s driving of its award-winning Range Rover Evoque is the star auction prize this year. So, one lucky entrant in this "money can't buy" auction will get an experience that's superior to any exotic holiday -- or even a honeymoon with Mike Tindall.

That's not all. Jaguar Land Rover will also auction a special Jaguar driving experience at the Nürburgring, scene of Lewis Hamilton's F1 win back in July. The company is also donating £15,000 to the Journalists' Charity.

The Journalists’ Charity was set up 150 years ago to help journalists who have fallen on hard times. In a year dominated by negative stories about News International it's tempting to speculate about the destination of some of the cash raised at this year's Ball.

Will hard-up members of the Murdoch family qualify for a handout? Perhaps the lucky winner of the Range Rover Evoque could offer Rupert a free chauffeur service for the next 12 months -- just to help him out.