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The UK votes for Brexit and it will impact automakers

It's the first morning after the United Kingdom voted for what's become known as Brexit – that is, to leave the European Union and its tariff-free internal market. Now begins a two-year process in which the UK will have to negotiate with the rest of the EU trading bloc, which is its largest export market, about many things. One of them may be tariffs, and that could severely impact any automaker that builds cars in the UK. This doesn't just mean companies that you think of as British, like Mini and Jaguar. Both of those automakers are owned by foreign companies, incidentally. Mini and Rolls-Royce are owned by BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover by Tata Motors of India, and Bentley by the VW Group. Many other automakers produce cars in the UK for sale within that country and also export to the EU. Tariffs could damage the profits of each of these companies, and perhaps cause them to shift manufacturing out of the UK, significantly damaging the country's resurgent manufacturing industry. Autonews Europe dug up some interesting numbers on that last point. Nissan, the country's second-largest auto producer, builds 475k or so cars in the UK but the vast majority are sent abroad. Toyota built 190k cars last year in Britain, of which 75 percent went to the EU and just 10 percent were sold in the country. Investors are skittish at the news. The value of the pound sterling has plummeted by 8 percent as of this writing, at one point yesterday reaching levels not seen since 1985. Shares at Tata Motors, which counts Jaguar and Land Rover as bright jewels in its portfolio, were off by nearly 12 percent according to Autonews Europe. So what happens next? No one's terribly sure, although the feeling seems to be that the jilted EU will impost tariffs of up to 10 percent on UK exports. It's likely that the UK will reciprocate, and thus it'll be more expensive to buy a European-made car in the UK. Both situations will likely negatively affect the country, as both production of new cars and sales to UK consumers will both fall. Evercore Automotive Research figures the combined damage will be roughly $9b in lost profits to automakers, and an as-of-yet unquantified impact on auto production jobs. Perhaps the EU's leaders in Brussels will be in a better mood in two years, and the process won't devolve into a trade war. In the immediate wake of the Brexit vote, though, the mood is grim, the EU leadership is angry, and investors are spooked.

Rolls-Royce Ghost Zenith Collector's Edition is the ultimate Ghost

This generation of Rolls-Royce Ghost is coming to a close. We’ve seen a couple of prototypes for the new Ghost out testing in the wild, but it looks like Rolls has one more ace to play on the current car: the Zenith CollectorÂ’s Edition. If youÂ’re an avid Rolls-Royce enthusiast, you may remember that the British marque introduced a Zenith edition of the Phantom in 2016 when that generation of Phantom was wrapping up its 13-year tenure. WeÂ’ve had the current Ghost for about 10 years now, which means a new one is right around the corner. Before itÂ’s finished, Rolls-Royce is screwing together 50 of these Zenith Edition cars. Rolls says these 50 cars “will feature the highest levels of bespoke ever seen on a Ghost Collection car.” ThatÂ’s saying something for a company that will pretty much do anything you ask so long as your bank account can back it up. Take a gander through the photos above to see what the 1 percenters are riding around in these days. Changes to this Ghost versus a regular one are inspired from the 200EX Concept, which was the concept car for the Ghost back in 2009. Each Zenith Edition will house a commemorative ingot made from the 200EXÂ’s Spirit of Ecstasy — itÂ’s melted down, then part of it is being placed into the center console of each of the 50 Zeniths. There is a plaque that explains exactly what it is to anyone wondering. The center console features an engraving of some part of the 200EX Concept. The owner gets to choose exactly what part it is. All the door pockets are illuminated with some rather fantastic-looking lights shining through perforated leather. A special clock and door sill commemorates this Ghost as the Zenith Edition. From the outside, youÂ’ll notice that all Ghost Zenith cars have a two-tone paint scheme with only three options, all shown here. Rolls doesnÂ’t say how much they cost, but it does warn that order books for the Zenith will close imminently. The cars are being manufactured in West Sussex as we speak.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge combines elevated power, style, luxury

For once, a black-themed special-edition vehicle actually has some depth. And it had better, because it's a Rolls-Royce. The new Cullinan Black Badge is not simply an SUV with black exhaust tips, a black grille, and black trim work, though it does have all three. In addition to a myriad of design treatments, some of which have never been applied to a Rolls-Royce, the Cullinan BB has increased power, a sportier drive setup, and unique features specific to this vehicle.  One of the most significant upgrades between the base Cullinan and the Black Badge is the performance. Rolls-Royce finessed the twin-turbocharged 6.75-liter to make 600 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque, both up from 563 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque. Zero to 60 takes only 4.9 seconds, and it tops out at 155 mph. The Black Badge also has "intuitive throttle," which makes the ZF eight-speed transmission shift a little more aggressively, and a "low" button on the gear shift opens up a deep-voiced exhaust note. Furthering the package, Rolls-Royce made changes to the suspension components and settings to ready for lively driving. A higher brake point in the pedal travel and redesigned high-temperature-resistant brake discs help keep the SUV in check. This is also the first time ever a Rolls-Royce has used colored brake calipers.  Said to represent the style of a younger generation, "permanent bespoke" Black Badge vehicles undergo a dark transformation. We say dark, because black is not the only paint option. A white model was also shown at the unveiling and contrasted well with other darkened parts on the SUV. Apparently, each paint job is hand-polished for up to five hours to ensure peak shiny. Rolls-Royce emphasized how big of a deal it was to use a black Spirit of Ecstasy, which changed color thanks to a chemical process, not paint or wraps. The inverted badging, grille surround, side frame finishers, trunk handle, trunk trim, lower air inlet finisher, and exhaust pipes also received black makeovers, and new 22-inch black and silver wheels adorn each corner. Inside, "The King of the Night," as Rolls-Royce says (guess that title is available after the last season of "Game of Thrones"), has more all-new features. Crafted with a leather headliner and 1,344 fiber optic strands, the Starlight ceiling is introduced to the Cullinan with eight white shooting stars integrated into the pattern. The carbon fiber has been redesigned with aluminum weave and shows off a 3D geometric pattern.