Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II Black Badge gets the wide-body treatment
This is actually the second Cullinan Series II to roll out (no pun intended) of RDB with one of these body kits, which sell for up to $100,000. The first, unveiled just month, had 26-inch RDB wheels and a body painted black. This one retains black wheels, but they're contrasted by Tempest Grey paint. It also takes things a bit further with thin LED daytime running lights mounted in the lower part of the front bumper.
Modifying an expensive car will likely always be controversial, but Rolls-Royce customers have plenty of cash and appetite for personalization, as evidenced by the automaker's massive catalog of paint and trim options. And it's more likely than not that those customers will be buying a Cullinan, which become Rolls' bestselling model after debuting in 2018.
The Cullinan Series II launched in 2024 as a mid-cycle refresh, although changes were small, LED jowls on the outside and a more contemporary dashboard screen arrangement inside being the highlights. Also offered on the pre-refresh Cullinan, the Black Badge spec adds darkened trim. Power comes from a twin-turbocharged 6.7-liter V12-producing 591 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque in Black Badge models-connected to an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
In rare earth metals power struggle with China, old laptops, phones may get a new life
As the U.S. and China vie for economic, technological and geopolitical supremacy, the critical elements and metals embedded in technology from consumer to industrial and military markets have become a pawn in the wider conflict. That's nowhere more so the case than in China's leverage over the rare earth metals supply chain. This past week, the Department of Defense took a large equity stake in MP Materials, the company running the only rare earths mining operation in the U.S. But there's another option to combat the rare earths shortage that goes back to an older idea: recycling. The business has come a long way from collecting cans, bottles, plastic, newspaper and other consumer disposables, otherwise destined for landfills, to recreate all sorts of new products. Today, next-generation recyclers — a mix of legacy companies and startups — are innovating ways to gather and process the ever-growing mountains of electronic waste, or e-waste, which comprises end-of-life and discarded computers, smartphones, servers, TVs, appliances, medical devices, and other electronics and IT equipment. And they are doing so in a way that is aligned to the newest critical technologies in society. Most recently, spent EV batteries, wind turbines and solar panels are fostering a burgeoning recycling niche. The e-waste recycling opportunity isn't limited to rare earth elements. Any electronics that can't be wholly refurbished and resold, or cannibalized for replacement parts needed to keep existing electronics up and running, can berecycled to strip out gold, silver, copper, nickel, steel, aluminum, lithium, cobalt and other metals vital to manufacturers in various industries. But increasingly, recyclers are extracting rare-earth elements, such as neodymium, praseodymium, terbium and dysprosium, which are critical in making everything from fighter jets to power tools. "Recycling [of e-waste] hasn't been taken too seriouslyuntil recently" as a meaningful source of supply, said Kunal Sinha, global head of recycling at Swiss-based Glencore, a major miner, producer and marketer of metals and minerals — and, to a much lesser but growing degree, an e-waste recycler. "A lot of people are still sleeping at the wheel and don't realize how big this can be," Sinha said. Traditionally, U.S. manufacturers purchase essential metals and rare earths from domestic and foreign producers — an inordinate number based in China — that fabricate mined raw materials, or through commodities traders. But with those supply chains now disrupted by unpredictable tariffs, trade policies and geopolitics, the market for recycled e-waste is gaining importance as a way to feed the insatiable electrification of everything. "The United States imports a lot of electronics, and all of that is coming with gold and aluminum and steel," said John Mitchell, president and CEO of the Global Electronics Association, an industry trade group. "So there's a great opportunity to actually have the tariffs be an impetus for greater recycling in this country for goods that we don't have, but are buying from other countries." Although recycling contributes only around $200 million to Glencore's total EBITDA of nearly $14 billion, the strategic attention and time the business gets from leadership "is much more than that percentage," Sinha said. "We believe that a lot of mining is necessary to get to all the copper, gold and other metals that are needed, but we also recognize that recycling is going to play a huge role," he said. Glencore has operated a huge copper smelter in Quebec, Canada, for almost 20 years on a site that's nearly 100-years-old. The facility processes mostly mined copper concentrates, though 15% of its feedstock is recyclable materials, such as e-waste that Glencore's global network of 100-plus suppliers collect and sort. The smelter pioneered the process for recovering copper and precious metals from e-waste in the mid 1980s, making it one of the first and largest of its type in the world. The smelted copper is refined into fresh slabs that are sold to manufacturers and traders. The same facility also produces refined gold, silver, platinum and palladium recovered from recycling feeds. The importance of copper to OEMs' supply chains was magnified in early July, when prices hit an all-time high after President Trump said he would impose a 50% tariff on imports of the metal. The U.S. imports just under half of its copper, and the tariff hike — like other new Trump trade policies — is intended to boost domestic production. It takes around three decades for a new mine in the U.S. to move from discovery to production, which makes recycled copper look all the more attractive, especially as demand keeps rising. According to estimates by energy-data firm Wood Mackenzie, 45% of demand will be met with recycled copper by 2050, up from about a third today. Foreign recycling companies have begun investing in the U.S.-based facilities. In 2022, Germany's Wieland broke ground on a $100-million copper and copper alloy recycling plant in Shelbyville, Kentucky. Last year, another German firm, Aurubis, started construction on an $800-million multi-metal recycling facility in Augusta, Georgia. "As the first major secondary smelter of its kind in the U.S., Aurubis Richmond will allow us to keep strategically important metals in the economy, making U.S. supply chains more independent," said Aurubis CEO Toralf Haag. The proliferation of e-waste can be traced back to the 1990s, when the internet gave birth to the digital economy, spawning exponential growth in electronically enabled products. The trend has been supercharged by the emergence of renewable energy, e-mobility, artificial intelligence and the build-out of data centers. That translates to a constant turnover of devices and equipment, and massive amounts of e-waste. In 2022, a record 62 million metric tons of e-waste were produced globally, up 82% from 2010, according to the most recent estimates from the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union and research arm UNITAR. That number is projected to reach 82 million metric tons by 2030. The U.S., the report said, produced just shy of 8 million tons of e-waste in 2022. Yet only about 15-20% of it is properly recycled, a figure that illustrates the untapped market for e-waste retrievables. The e-waste recycling industry generated $28.1 billion in revenue in 2024, according to IBISWorld, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 8%. Whether it's refurbished and resold or recycled for metals and rare-earths, e-waste that stores data — especially smartphones, computers, servers and some medical devices — must be wiped of sensitive information to comply with cybersecurity and environmental regulations. The service, referred to as IT asset disposition (ITAD), is offered by conventional waste and recycling companies, including Waste Management, Republic Services and Clean Harbors, as well as specialists such as Sims Lifecycle Services, Electronic Recyclers International, All Green Electronics Recycling and Full Circle Electronics. "We're definitely seeing a bit of an influx of [e-waste] coming into our warehouses," said Full Circle Electronics CEO Dave Daily, adding, "I think that is due to some early refresh cycles." That's a reference to businesses and consumers choosing to get ahead of the customary three-year time frame for purchasing new electronics, and discarding old stuff, in anticipation of tariff-related price increases. Daily also is witnessing increased demand among downstream recyclers for e-waste Full Circle Electronics can't refurbish and sell at wholesale. The company dismantles and separates it into 40 or 50 different types of material, from keyboards and mice to circuit boards, wires and cables. Recyclers harvest those items for metals and rare earths, which continue to go up in price on commodities markets, before reentering the supply chain as core raw materials. Even before the Trump administration's efforts to revitalize American manufacturing by reworking trade deals, and recent changes in tax credits key to the industry in Trump's tax and spending bill, entrepreneurs have been launching e-waste recycling startups and developing technologies to process them for domestic OEMs. "Many regions of the world have been kind of lazy about processing e-waste, so a lot of it goes offshore," Sinha said. In response to that imbalance, "There seems to be a trend of nationalizing e-waste, because people suddenly realize that we have the same metals [they've] been looking for" from overseas sources, he said. "People have been rethinking the global supply chain, that they're too long and need to be more localized." Several startups tend to focus on a particular type of e-waste. Lately, rare earths have garnered tremendous attention, not just because they're in high demand by U.S. electronics manufacturers but also to lessen dependence on China, which dominates mining, processing and refining of the materials. In the production of rare-earth magnets — used in EVs, drones, consumer electronics, medical devices, wind turbines, military weapons and other products — China commands roughly 90% of the global supply chain. The lingering U.S.–China trade war has only exacerbated the disparity. In April, China restricted exports of seven rare earths and related magnets in retaliation for U.S. tariffs, a move that forced Ford to shut down factories because of magnet shortages. China, in mid-June, issued temporary six-month licenses to certain major U.S. automaker suppliers and select firms. Exports are flowing again, but with delays and still well below peak levels. The U.S. is attempting to catch up. Before this past week's Trump administration deal, the Biden administration awarded $45 million in funding to MP Materials and the nation's lone rare earths mine, in Mountain Pass, California. Back in April, the Interior Department approved development activities at the Colosseum rare earths project, located within California's Mojave National Preserve. The project, owned by Australia's Dateline Resources, will potentially become America's second rare earth mine after Mountain Pass. Meanwhile, several recycling startups are extracting rare earths from e-waste. Illumynt has an advanced process for recovering them from decommissioned hard drives procured from data centers. In April, hard drive manufacturer Western Digital announced a collaboration with Microsoft, Critical Materials Recycling and PedalPoint Recycling to pull rare earths, as well as copper, gold, aluminum and steel, from end-of-life drives. Canadian-based Cyclic Materials invented a process that recovers rare-earths and other metals from EV motors, wind turbines, MRI machines and data-center e-scrap. The company is investing more than $20 million to build its first U.S.-based facility in Mesa, Arizona. Late last year, Glencore signed a multiyear agreement with Cyclic to provide recycled copper for its smelting and refining operations. Another hot feedstock for e-waste recyclers is end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, a source of not only lithium but also copper, cobalt, nickel, manganese and aluminum. Those materials are essential for manufacturing new EV batteries, which the Big Three automakers are heavily invested in. Their projects, however, are threatened by possible reductions in the Biden-era 45X production tax credit, featured in the new federal spending bill. It's too soon to know how that might impact battery recyclers — including Ascend Elements, American Battery Technology, Cirba Solutions and Redwood Materials — who themselves qualify for the 45X and other tax credits. They might actually be aided by other provisions in the budget bill that benefit a domestic supply chain of critical minerals as a way to undercut China's dominance of the global market. Nonetheless, that looming uncertainty should be a warning sign for e-waste recyclers, said Sinha. "Be careful not to build a recycling company on the back of one tax credit," he said, "because it can be short-lived." Investing in recyclers can be precarious, too, Sinha said. While he's happy to see recycling getting its due as a meaningful source of supply, he cautions people to be careful when investing in this space. Startups may have developed new technologies, but lack good enough business fundamentals. "Don't invest on the hype," he said, "but on the fundamentals." Glencore, ironically enough, is a case in point. It has invested $327.5 million in convertible notes in battery recycler Li-Cycle to provide feedstock for its smelter. The Toronto-based startup had broken ground on a new facility in Rochester, New York, but ran into financial difficulties and filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in May, prompting Glencore to submit a "stalking horse" credit bid of at least $40 million for the stalled project and other assets. Even so, "the current environment will lead to more startups and investments" in e-waste recycling, Sinha said. "We are investing ourselves."
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Has Bentley Officially Surpassed Rolls-Royce?
Rolls-Royce and Bentley are tied to each other forever. As recently as the late 90s, the two automakers made vehicles that were virtually indistinguishable from one another. Each had its trademarks, badging, and in Rolls-Royce's case, the Spirit of Ecstasy and grille design. Fast-forwarding three decades, we find two brands with distinct personalities and heritage. Looking closer, we see two brands that have set out to accomplish similar things - and achieved on very different levels. But first, a quick history lesson. Bentley Motors began life in January 1919 as World War I ended, debuting its first car later that year. The company delivered its first car in the following year and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1927. Then, the brand repeated its wins in the three years following. Rolls-Royce bought the brand when it went into receivership on the heels of the Great Depression. The newly acquired now-subsidiary's first car was a Bentley 3.5-liter that appeared in 1933, powered by a Rolls-Royce engine. The latter part would prove to be a trend as all Bentley models produced after the merger until 2004 relied on Rolls-Royce engines and chassis. After changing hands in the 1970s, Rolls-Royce (including Bentley) went up for sale in the late 1990s. BMW and Volkswagen were poised to become the inheritors of the luxury crown. BMW was already providing powertrains for Rolls, and took further steps to purchase the name and logo for Rolls-Royce. For a sizable $703 million, Volkswagen purchased the designs, nameplates, and the facilities themselves. But, without the rights to the name and badging, a compromise needed to be met. Thus, VW took Bentley, and BMW got Rolls-Royce. Effective January 2003, the two brands were finally separate entities. After twenty-two years apart, how have they fared? Let's start with Rolls-Royce. The original nameplate has carried itself well into the 21st century, and 2024 saw the brand deliver 5,712 cars, its third-best recorded. Here, Bentley compares favorably. The Crewe-based automaker delivered nearly double the number of cars as Rolls, with 10,600 cars finding new homes. However, volume is only part of where these brands generate their revenue. Both place a heavy emphasis on customizability; Rolls-Royce has Bespoke, while Bentley offers Mulliner. Last year, Bentley saw revenue per car rise 10%, and a lot of that comes from the fact that 70% of the cars delivered had at least one Mulliner inclusion. Rolls-Royce says, similarly, that it saw a 10% increase in Bespoke content overall, enough to set a record for the brand. Bentley trounces Goodwood in volume, and profit is a similar story. Bentley reported a profit of $439 million. Meanwhile, BMW reported that Rolls-Royce generated around $140 million in profit, demonstrating that the brand is also very likely making less, percentage-wise, per car than the boys in Crewe. The story remains consistent no matter which arena you pick. Rolls-Royce, overall, accounts for roughly 1% of parent company BMW's profit. Bentley? Last year, despite a downturn in profits, the brand accounted for around 2% of Volkswagen's profit. We've established that Bentley is making more money than Rolls-Royce, but what does the future hold? Bentley certainly isn't resting on its laurels, just recently announcing three new stores for North America in desirable locations - Santa Barbara, California, San Antonio, Texas, and Oakville, Canada, a Toronto suburb. An exec was recently quoted as saying there's "no real limitation" on what the automaker can or would build you, even offering a pickup truck. Finally, Bentley also laid the ground for a new BEV assembly line back in March 2025. Then, in July, Bentley opened up a brand-new design studio converted from one of its oldest and most heritage-filled buildings. BMW isn't putting Rolls-Royce out to pasture yet, though. Last year, the brand added two new Private Office locations and an invite-only network for Rolls-Royce customers to configure their vehicles. Furthermore, the brand committed around $400 million to expanding manufacturing at the Goodwood facility. The numbers don't lie. It's a fairly accurate statement to say that Bentley has surpassed Rolls-Royce, at least for the time being. However, even after a century, both brands are still growing. Notably, the big B doesn't have a single all-electric model. Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce has cleaned up with the Spectre, simultaneously attracting a whole new kind of buyer and moving units. It's too early to tell which of these historic luxury brands is going to come out on top, but Bentley has certainly taken the lead, and is obviously working and spending hard to maintain it. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sweet Loren's CEO was unfulfilled in her ‘real' jobs—beating cancer gave her the guts to quit and launch the $120 million cookie brand
After a cancer diagnosis in her early 20's right out of college, Loren Castle poured her heart into her healthy refrigerated cookie dough brand Sweet Loren's. Disillusioned with unfulfilling 'real' jobs and growing more concerned with her health, she quit the corporate world for good to launch her $120 million business that's now stocking the refrigerated aisles of over 35,000 Targets, Whole Foods, and Costcos. There are many people out there feeling stuck in their full-time jobs, waiting for divine intervention or the perfect moment to jump ship. One entrepreneur found the courage to become her own boss after surviving a scary bout of cancer right out of college. In 2006, Loren Castle, the CEO of refrigerated cookie dough empire Sweet Loren's, was a fresh-faced 22-year-old who had just graduated from the University of Southern California. But three months later, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma: a cancer that originates in the lymphatic system. While going through chemotherapy for six months, Castle was wrangling the issue of eating healthier while figuring out what her career would look like. 'After [recovering], my doctor said, 'Go be normal and get a real job,'' Castle recalls to Fortune. 'I was like, 'I can't be normal anymore.' Life is really precious, I want to make sure I find something that I'm super passionate about. I wasn't happy working for someone else in a job that I just wasn't really passionate about.' Four years after working unfulfilling corporate and restaurant-industry jobs, she finally found that passion—and turned it into a booming million-dollar business. Today, her healthy refrigerated cookie dough brand lines the aisles of 35,000 supermarkets, including chains like Whole Foods, Target, and Costco. Sweet Loren's rolled in $97 million in gross sales in 2024, and is on target to reach a staggering $120 million run rate this year. 'The goal is to take over the whole refrigerated dough section, and really become the number one player in the space,' Castle continues. 'While the big guys are asleep at the wheel, we know how to speak to millennials and Gen Z, the future shopper…I'm just really passionate about this because it started from a personal need.' New York-based Castle wasn't inspired to start Sweet Loren's because of her love for baking—in fact, she did little of it before her diagnosis. While her friends were out partying, her illness had forced her to change the way she lived, including the way she ate. Having a big sweet tooth, Castle was disappointed in the lack of wholesome cookie dough brands. So she took cooking classes and studied nutrition on the days she didn't have cancer treatment, opting for 'super-powered' healthy foods, and formulated her own healthy sweet treat. 'I started making my own recipe, practicing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of batches. And finally I [made] these recipes that I was like, 'Wait a minute, like, this is the best cookie I've ever had,'' Castle says. 'It turned what was a really scary, negative time in my life into like a superpower.' Castle started test-running batch after batch of health-conscious cookies while working other jobs on the side. During those years she worked at a boutique PR company, helped manage a restaurant, and had a role at a wine business. She was bouncing between roles that didn't fulfill her. But surviving cancer—and wanting to turn the nightmare of the illness into something positive—was the push she needed to finally start her own business. 'Life is short. I don't want regrets. I was so keenly aware of my feelings. If I wasn't in love with something, it was really hard to make myself do it,' Castle said. 'It got to that point of, 'I don't like my boss, I don't want to be making him money.'' After three years of trying and failing to find a job she loved and was passionate about, Castle pulled the plug and veered into entrepreneurship at 26. Now, what started as a personal necessity has become a game-changer for a much wider audience. Castle has enjoyed massive success by tapping into cravings for healthy sweet treats, especially among consumers with allergies or dietary restrictions. Selling nut-free, dairy-free, and vegan cookie doughs, pie crusts, puff pastry, and pizza doughs, Sweet Loren's reached a niche that has since blossomed into a bigger movement. Castle had already amassed a hoard of cookie fans from having her friends and families test the batches. But her real big break came in 2011, when she entered a baking contest in New York City: The Next Big Small Brand Contest for Culinary Genius. She swept the competition, winning both the people's choice award and judge's award. Sweet Loren's was officially on the map, and suddenly, hundreds of families were emailing the brand weekly asking for new dietary-sensitive options. In addition to the healthy cookie dough she was producing, they wanted nut-free, gluten-free, vegan-friendly sweet treats. 'Once I launched allergen-free [products], they became our number one SKU overnight,' she says. Castle says that her brand is now the number one natural cookie dough brand in the U.S., without private equity backing, VC funding, or glitzy billboard ads. 'It's not like we're pouring $50 million into Super Bowl ads and things like that. I think it's just that we really solved a problem,' Castle says. 'They just love the quality of the product and tell their friends and become advocates for it. Because we're raising the bar on what packaged food can taste like, and what the ingredients can be like. It's more of a premium.' This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
