logo
Manny Khoshbin Sells One-Off McLaren Speedtail Hermès Edition to Japanese Collector

Manny Khoshbin Sells One-Off McLaren Speedtail Hermès Edition to Japanese Collector

Yahoo07-04-2025

Read the full story on Modern Car Collector
Real estate tycoon and supercar aficionado Manny Khoshbin has sold one of the most unique cars in his renowned garage: a one-of-one McLaren Speedtail Hermès Edition. The multi-million-dollar hypercar, crafted in collaboration with the luxury French fashion house, has been shipped to a collector in Japan following a private offer Khoshbin says he 'couldn't refuse.'
The ultra-exclusive Speedtail was number 24 of just 106 units produced and was extensively customized to Khoshbin's vision. Drawing inspiration from Hermès' iconic Parisian flagship address at 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the car featured bespoke brown leather trim throughout, creamy-white accents, and the kind of artisanal detail usually reserved for haute couture. Despite the visual spectacle, it wasn't enough to keep Khoshbin behind the wheel.
'It just didn't do it for me under the hood,' he said in a recent social media post. 'The V8 hybrid had some issues early on with the wireless charger. They got sorted eventually, but every time I walked past the car, it didn't get me excited.'
Khoshbin, known for his discerning automotive taste and luxury lifestyle, added that the Speedtail lacked the emotional punch of other hypercars in his fleet, like his McLaren P1 or one-off Pagani Huayra—also finished with Hermès touches. Though the sale price wasn't disclosed, the custom Speedtail was initially valued north of $2.5 million.
While one hypercar departs, others are surely on the way. Khoshbin still owns one of only two Bugatti Bolides in the U.S., alongside an all-white Rolls-Royce fleet and a Hermès-edition Chiron. As for the Speedtail, it's starting a new chapter in Japan, where it will join another high-end collection.
'Some cars you collect,' Khoshbin said. 'Others you connect with.'
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

China carefully assembling a deep-sea mining strategy
China carefully assembling a deep-sea mining strategy

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

China carefully assembling a deep-sea mining strategy

In a world hungry for crucial resources, China may not be poised to start deep-sea mining but it is planting seeds for such operations in a meticulously planned economic and geopolitical strategy. The world's oceans, both international waters and those under national jurisdiction, are rich in minerals and metals, like cobalt, nickel and copper. These are important for building electric car batteries, for instance, and other technologies as countries try to transition away from fossil fuels. China "is an energy-thirsty country. It will look for resources everywhere," including the deep sea, said Julia Xue of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. But she said China is not particularly anxious over the issue, although recent developments -- one company is itching to be the first to start mining the sea bed -- may put more pressure on Beijing. A Canadian firm, The Metals Company, has filed an application with the United States to begin undersea mining in international waters. Using its American subsidiary, it acted after President Donald Trump, bypassing international negotiations, signed an executive order in April to speed up the permit-issuing process for such mining in US and international waters. Trump cited an obscure 1980 US law that says American citizens can explore for and recover deep sea minerals in areas beyond the country's jurisdiction. Environmental groups are outraged by Trump's order, arguing that a wild hunt for the potato-sized, metal-containing nodules could harm fragile undersea ecosystems. The Canadian company initially said it would submit its request to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), a body which has jurisdiction over the ocean floor in international waters. The Metals Company says it ignored this authority because of its slow pace in talks on adopting a mining code that establishes rules for exploiting seabed resources. The United States is not an ISA member. A long-time observer of those talks who spoke on condition of anonymity said China is not particularly worried about who starts mining first. "For them it's more about dominance, staying competitive in the game, and giving the impression that you can't mess with us," the observer said. With that goal in mind "they're definitely developing the technology and putting the strategic agreements in place," Alex Gilbert, a researcher at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at Colorado School of Mines, told AFP. For instance, China has reached an agreement with the Cook Islands to explore for minerals in that Pacific country's waters. Another tiny Pacific nation, Kiribati, also says it is exploring a deep-sea mining partnership with China. This approach is "more geopolitical than economic," said Emmanuel Hache of the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, noting Beijing is using undersea mining as a lure to cement greater diplomatic support as it exerts power. China holds five contracts handed out by the ISA to look for resources in the Pacific and Indian Ocean sea beds and these contracts cover all types of undersea mineral resources. China's is the largest number of the 22 contracts the organization has granted. - Years behind - "From a research perspective, we have been continuously getting closer. And from a technical perspective, we have been continuously improving," said Chen Xuguang, a researcher at Ocean University of China. In 2024 a Chinese prototype deep-sea mining vehicle called Pioneer II, developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, set a national record by operating at a depth of more than 4,000 meters (13,100 feet). State-owned Beijing Pioneer Hi-Tech Development Corporation told AFP that later this year it plans a seabed nodule collection test. Still, China is not as advanced technologically as The Metals Company, experts say. "I would characterize China as being two to four years behind them in terms of their technology," said Gilbert in Colorado. Hache, the French expert, put the gap at five years. But China has an advantage over firms like the Canadian one in recovering and processing nodules: its companies are supported by the state and China has infrastructure for processing metals. The observer of the international seabed talks said China does not need seabed mining for metal supply, "but maybe geopolitically, in the context of maintaining their control over the commodities market." China wants to keep its options open, this person said. And while it supports an international mining code, China does not need one now and "they're not going to put pressure until they've decided strategically that they're ready," said Gilbert. abd/dw/mlm

Klarna CEO predicts AI-driven job displacement will cause a recession
Klarna CEO predicts AI-driven job displacement will cause a recession

Yahoo

time5 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Klarna CEO predicts AI-driven job displacement will cause a recession

Klarna's CEO has predicted that a recession could be around the corner as companies around the globe—including his own—reduce the headcount of well-paid, white-collar jobs and replace them with AI. Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the boss of the Swedish Buy Now, Pay Later group is once again sounding a pessimistic tone on AI's impact on the workforce. But as he embraces the potential positive effects of AI on his own bottom line, he may have to contest with the negative fallout of a company that has flirted with growing credit losses in the last year. While he admitted that 'making future statements about macroeconomics is like horoscopes,' Siemiatkowski's well-documented feelings about AI's impact on the labor market leave him making a pessimistic prediction about the economy. 'My suspicion…is that there will be an implication for white-collar jobs. And when that happens, that usually leads to at least a recession in the short term. And I think, unfortunately, I don't see how we could avoid that with what's happening from a technology perspective,' Siemiatkowski said on the Times Tech Podcast. Siematkowski has long warned of the disruptive nature of AI on the labor market, using his experience of shifting recruiting practices at Klarna to support his argument that it will replace roles. He told the podcast that the company's headcount had fallen from 5,500 people to 3,000 in the space of two years. Speaking in August last year, Siematkowski said his ambition was to eventually reduce that figure to 2,000 through workplace norms like attrition rather than by engaging in layoffs. In February last year, Klarna announced that its AI chatbot was doing the work of 700 customer service staff, previously a role filled by customer service agents working for the French agency Teleperformance. While Siemiatkowski has faced criticism for his willingness to talk about AI's disruptive potential, he indicated he felt it was more of a duty to be frank about the technology. 'Many people in the tech industry, especially CEOs, tend to downplay the consequences of AI on jobs, white-collar jobs in particular. I don't want to be one of them.' Indeed, Siemiatkowski implied that if he added up the number of employees of CEOs who had called him to ask about making 'efficiencies,' that figure in itself would make for a seismic economic event. An AI-induced recession would combine a number of brewing themes for the Swedish tech group. Siemiatkowski's comments come as the group reported widening credit losses, which rose by 17% to $136 million last year. Siemiatkowski explained the losses as a result of the group taking on more customers, naturally leading to a rise in defaults. On a relative basis, the percentage increase in defaults was small, Siemiatkowski said. The Swede added that because Klarna customers' average indebtedness was £100, they were more likely to pay back their loans compared with typical credit card debt of what he said was £5,000. The typical U.K. credit card holder has an outstanding credit balance closer to around £1,800, while in the U.S., the average is about $6,300. Regardless of the variance, Siemiatkowski says the difference means customers are more likely to pay off their Klarna debts. 'We are very unsensitive to macroeconomic shifts. We can still see them, but they're much less profound than if you're a big bank, you have tons of mortgages. And for people to really increase losses, credit losses, what has to happen is people have to lose jobs.' Despite that, predictions of mass layoffs among white-collar workers could inform higher risk for the company's credit business. While there wasn't any sign of a recession currently, Siemiatkowski did observe falling consumer sentiment, which would impact spending. Siemiatkowski's views on AI in the labor force have evolved over time. Speaking to Bloomberg in May, Siemiatowski was reported to have said the company was embarking on a recruitment drive, contrary to his previous statements about a workforce reduction. Speaking with the Times, Siemiatkowski clarified that the company needed different types of workers to handle more complex customer service requests. 'When we started applying AI in our customer service, we realized that there will be a higher value to human connection,' he said. This story was originally featured on

Trump may have to choose: Making trade deals or keeping his car tariffs
Trump may have to choose: Making trade deals or keeping his car tariffs

Yahoo

time7 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Trump may have to choose: Making trade deals or keeping his car tariffs

President Donald Trump is telling domestic audiences he won't cut his 25 percent tariffs on foreign cars as part of any trade deals he negotiates. But other countries — who collectively send millions of vehicles to the U.S. each year — haven't gotten that message. Trading partners like the EU, Japan and South Korea are laboring under the impression that the auto tariffs, which Trump imposed in April, are still on the table, according to two people familiar with the talks between Trump officials and those countries, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. If Trump is really unwilling to lower or eliminate his tariffs on foreign cars, it could prove to be a major hurdle to securing meaningful trade deals with some of the country's top trading partners. Japan, South Korea and Germany sold more than $121 billion in cars and car parts in the U.S. in 2024. The White House did not answer when asked if auto tariffs were on the table for negotiations and instead reiterated the goal of the tariffs. 'No president has taken a greater interest in reviving America's once-dominant auto industry than President Trump, and the auto industry is a key focus of the Trump administration's trade and economic policies,' said Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson. 'Discussions with our major trading partners continue, and the Trump administration continues to seek better trade deals for American industries and workers.' A decision to lift the tariffs for more countries, particularly those whose companies compete most fiercely with American carmakers, risks alienating a powerful manufacturing bloc and undercutting a central tenet of Trump's trade agenda — forcing companies to build more products in the U.S. The Trump administration has assured American automakers that when it comes to auto tariffs being used as a bargaining chip, they have 'nothing to worry about,' according to a person familiar with discussions between the administration and Detroit's 'Big Three' auto companies, granted anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks. Trump has said a deal to lower the tariff on a small number of British cars, announced last month, was an exception. 'I won't do that deal with cars' for other countries, Trump said when announcing the terms of negotiation with the U.K. on May 8. The British auto brand Rolls-Royce is 'a very special car and it's a very limited number too. It's not one of the monster car companies that makes millions of cars,' he noted. Even that agreement, which lowered the tariff on 100,000 cars, less than 1 percent of total U.S. annual car sales, drew a sharp rebuke from U.S. automakers. 'This hurts American automakers, suppliers, and auto workers,' the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, said at the time, saying they hoped it 'does not set a precedent for future negotiations with Asian and European competitors.' The tension between the two goals — boosting domestic auto production while also negotiating delicate agreements to lower trade barriers — highlights the challenge facing the administration as it races to secure deals with dozens of countries before the president's double-digit 'reciprocal' tariffs are slated to kick back in next month. 'To ease the sting of those tariffs on the auto sectors for Korea and Japan is of course a high priority for them,' said Michael Beeman, a former assistant U.S. trade representative who focused on Japan and South Korea. 'I think for those countries, to be able to declare success from the talks at home, they would expect some sort of consideration." The auto tariffs have already been a sticking point in negotiations with Japan and South Korea, both of which are invested in maintaining a high level of domestic auto manufacturing. Auto exports from South Korea to the U.S. have exploded over the past 20 years, from $8.7 billion in 2005 to $37.3 billion in 2024, according to data collected by the Census Bureau. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said publicly that any trade deal with Japan would have to result in lower auto tariffs. Now, as the two countries are on their fifth round of talks, with a planned meeting between Ishiba and Trump at the G7 in Canada in two weekends, both countries are projecting optimism about a deal. "I think we'll also need to address, at a minimum, the auto [Section] 232 tariffs,' said Wendy Cutler, a former negotiator with the U.S. trade representative's office and the vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said when asked what it would take to get a deal with Japan. Cutler said any deal with Japan or South Korea could have a lower tariff for a certain number of vehicles, similar to the deal with the U.K. Or, 'they could also just be very vague and say that the U.S. notes Japan's concern on the auto tariffs, and both sides agree to negotiate possible lowering of the tariffs in this detailed negotiation to follow," she said. Trump has already agreed to lower tariffs on automobiles once. In his first trade agreement since imposing a global 10 percent tariff on nearly every U.S. trading partner and potentially higher rates on more than 60 countries, Trump struck an agreement with the U.K. that would allow the country to ship 100,000 vehicles into the country at a 10 percent tariff — lower than the current 25 percent tariff on automobiles and auto parts. The deal drew condemnation from American automakers, who noted that it meant a lower tariff on cars imported from the U.K. than on North American-made cars that include U.S.-made parts. They expressed concern that lowering tariffs with major auto manufacturing countries like Japan, South Korea and Germany would make it more expensive to build cars with parts from North America — creating an unfair playing field and effectively undercutting the administration's effort to boost domestic auto manufacturing. Vehicles made across the integrated North American supply chain still face a 25 percent tariff on non-U.S. made content, even if the vehicle is compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement that Trump negotiated in his first term. The Trump administration has continued to press foreign automakers to move production to the U.S. Last week, Trump met with German automakers, who offered $100 billion in investment in the U.S., according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Trump — and Republicans on Capitol Hill — say those commitments are a sign that tariffs are working. "They make BMWs in South Carolina, Volvo. They make Mercedes in Alabama,' Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) pointed out during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Wednesday. Under Trump, 'They're talking about making the engine now in South Carolina. They're talking about more content in South Carolina.' There has yet to be an uptick in U.S. auto manufacturing, however, a reminder that the investment pledges will take years to fully develop. Auto manufacturing jobs held steady between April and May, though there were 2,240 fewer auto manufacturing jobs in May, compared to 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While welcoming the announcements, the Trump White House has given no indication the investment pledges will convince the president to lower auto tariffs on foreign countries. 'I mean, unless somebody shows me that there's another kind of a car that's comparable to a Rolls-Royce,' Trump said in May, 'and there aren't too many.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store