THE SULTAN OF BRUNEI’S CAR COLLECTION, SOME LIST AND PICTURES, YOUR OPINION? HOW MANY CARS DO YOU HAVE?

 

One of Sultan Brunei’s car

How many cars do you have? 1? 2? 3? 4? 10 cars in your garage is already an addiction for cars.How about 100? Or thousands. Thats insane.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has been listed as the world’s richest man for longer than most people can remember. As absolute sovereign of the little Sultanate that neighbours Malaysia, the Sultan pockets around half the profits from the state’s oil and gas reserves for himself and his family. It’s a personal bounty some analysts say amounts to three quarters of a billion pounds every year.

The Sultan of Brunei has the highest collection of luxury cars in the world. He also has the records for the first cars sold by a manufacturer and even have the last cars of famous models that has already been phased out. The Sultan also often ordered cars in bulk, mainly because he wanted them in different colours – yellow, red and black.With over 5,000 cars in his garage, the Brunei Sultan is the most insane car collector.

The garages are like huge warehouses

It’s not surprising, therefore, that the Bruneian royals are profligate spenders. But still, no one could be prepared for the sights that await visitors to the multi-billion-pound collection stashed away in the four giant garages and workshop at House Number Five. “The garages are like huge warehouses,” says one source, “wall to wall with exotic cars. My jaw hit the ground when I saw them. It can take an hour and a half just to get a certain car out if it’s been parked right at the back.”

5000 vehicles, all logged onto a central computer system

Around 3000 vehicles reside in the complex, out of a royal collection of 5000 vehicles, all logged onto a central computer system based in the workshop administration centre on the site. If not driven by immediate members of the family, then they are used by the ministers of state, government officials and members of the royal household. But the latest word is that much of the collection is now in mothballs as the Sultan assesses the impact of recent changes in the economic climate.

Rolls-Royce supplied 40 or 50 cars a year to Brunei

“The usual order for anything other than the most unique cars would be for at least six examples, all supplied in different colours,” another source claims. Two UK companies have benefited handsomely from the Sultan’s munificence: Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce. Aston is believed to have supplied between 200 and 300 cars over a 15-year period, ranging from virtually standard models to customised versions of current cars, such as the Vantage shooting brake and saloon.

Aston has also supplied rolling Vantage chassis to Pininfarina, which has designed and built cars like the AM3 and AM4. Sources estimate the final cost of those machines at 600,000 Pounds, and just two or three of each have been built. Aston also supplied and serviced all the Jaguars on the Brunei fleet after the Coventry-based company refused to send technicians over, bizarrely suggesting the Sultan might like to rely on the local dealer network instead… Rolls-Royce supplied 40 or 50 cars a year to Brunei, mainly for use as government “runabouts”. The cars cost up to 450,000 Pounds and have all in recent years featured a special “Sultan spec'” engine. Reliable sources speak of a twin turbocharger set-up and a series of internal mods that deliver a peak torque figure of 712lb ft at 2400rpm and 542bhp at 4500rpm.

Six Ferrari FX models for the Sultan

The Bruneian royals have also spent millions with Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina which, as well as rebodying Aston Martins, has also produced many unique Ferraris. Convertible, coupe and saloon versions of the standard 456 Ferrari (all codenamed Venice) have been produced in limited numbers, mainly for Brunei but also for wealthy customers elsewhere in the world. Pininfarina has also produced at least six Ferrari FX models for the Sultan. Based on 512M running gear, the cars feature manual transmission shifted by a button on the steering wheel, a system developed by Prodrive for its rally cars. It predates Ferrari‘s own paddle-shift system on the F355 by a couple of years.

The family also owns two fully operational Ferrari Mythos road cars – the Mythos was supposed to be a one-off show concept – but Pininfarina’s latest proposal, the Bolide, was turned down.

Under the circumstances, perhaps the Sultan will choose to let the cars rot until Brunei’s prospects brighten. And that will be a great time to get into the restoration business.

 Some Article-Enter The Sultan’s Secrect Garage

 

Aston Martin Virage Lagonda Wagon and Sedan
Here’s a perfect example of the type of asks the Sultan would make to automakers. The V8 Vantage of the ’90s was an awesome piece of brutish British muscle. In our mind, the only way to make it more badass was to add more doors, and it would appear the Sultan was of the same mindset as the Brunei royals ordered Aston Martin to convert some Virages to Lagonda-badged sedans and wagons. Some were even converted to Vantage technical specification.

Aston Martin Special Series 1
Done in-house by Aston Martin Works, the Aston Martin Special Series 1 was styled to look like the classic DB4 Zagato. But while the old DB4 had to make do with an inline-six, the Series 1 rode on a V8 Vantage platform complete with twin-supercharged V8 power. Because when you’ve got the money to make it happen, you make it happen.

Aston Martin Special Series 2
Where the Series 1 was pure retro, the Series 2 was the culmination of contemporary. Striking a nice balance between elegant and aggressive, the Special Series 2 was also believed to be based on the V8 Vantage. Sounds like a nice way to counter-balance the design of the Series 1. Or at least the Sultan seemed to think so.

Aston Martin AM3
The AM3 was the most non-traditional design of all the custom Astons. Perhaps this was because it was bodied by Pininfarina in Italy. The lights were given a smoked treatment to blend in with the black plastic front fascia. And like all great contemporary designs, it still looks modern today.

Aston Martin AM4
Although the AM4 was much more conservative than the AM3, it too was designed by the denizens of the clay workshops of Pininfarina. Also on the V8 Vantage chassis, we think it looks something like a big DB7.

Bentley Dominator
Before the Porsche Cayenne or Cadillac Escalade, if you wanted an SUV with a stuck-up sense of over-built purpose, there was only the Range Rover. Unless you were the Sultan, in which case you’d commission Bentley to construct a batch of SUVs with a unique Bentley chassis and Range Rover 4WD systems. At least they didn’t ride on 24″ spinners.

Bentley Java
Originally the Java was a concept to show what a Bentley based on a BMW 5-series might look like. Apparently the Brunei royals liked it enough they had Bentley build a convertible version of the show car. The gleefully exorbitant brand-bastard madness didn’t stop with the drop-top, as it appears he had some wagons built as well. Though from what we understand they didn’t actually use a BMW for these functioning examples of concept gone crazy.

Bentley Rapier
Back when all Bentleys were styled starting with Lego models, the Rapier was designed to be a modern and forward-thinking interpretation of the brand. The flowing lines are still more sleek that the current lineup from Crewe. Although now, the front view might cause people to initially confuse it for a Jaguar XF.

Alpina B12 BMW 8-Series
The BMW 850CSi was the best you could get from Bavaria, but that wasn’t good enough for the Sultan. The version of the big coupe is tuned by Alpina and called the B12. In addition to those fancy stripes and vents, the car had a V12 pumping out about 350 HP.

Cizeta-Moroder V16T
With a 16-cylinder engine made from two V8s stuck together, the Cizeta-Moroder V16T was one of the most ambitious hypercar projects ever attempted. The engine was mounted in a Fiero-like sideways fashion, instead of the longitudinal way you’d expect in a Lamborghini. Even the headlights were over-the-top, it had two flip-up lamps on each side.

Dauer Porsche 962
Known as the Dauer 962 Le Mans, it’s an extremely limited edition street-version of Porsche’s dominant 962 race car. It’s also said up to five of these once lived in the Brunei royal garage. At one time, they were arguably the fastest road cars in the world. That is, if you actually consider them “road cars.”

Ferrari 456 Venice
The Ferrari 456 is arguably the most elegant car to come from Maranello in recent years. That being said — why stop with mere elegance when you’re a Sultan. No, a Sultan demands indulgence. Which we’re assuming is why he built himself a four-door sedan and wagon version of the Italian stallion. With a wave of his hand, he commissioned design-shop Pininfarina to build some super-sized versions. We’re even told the Sultan reportedly had them set up shop on the royal grounds, just for this sort of special project. Must have been why they tossed in that sexy drop-top 456 Spider at no extra cost.

Ferrari F40
The Ferrari F40 only came in red, right? Not if you’re the Sultan. It’s ironic to see the most exciting car of its day in the most drab color imaginable.

McLaren F1
Obviously, this wasn’t the only McLaren in the garage, but where else are you gonna find one in yellow? And we all know what yellow is good for. We can see it now ,the Sultan cruising, one chick magnetically sealed to each side due to the raw yellow magnetism of the McLaren.

Mercedes-Benz Argento Vivo
Essentially a re-bodied SL, the Argento Vivo design was originally a Honda concept car by the same name. But what sets a Honda concept apart from a Mercedes is all about what’s under the hood. In this case, an AMG 7.3-liter V12, the same engine used in the Pagani Zonda.

Mercedes-Benz S73 Touring
Yet another awesome wagon, the special S-class Touring model was designed just for the Sultan. Of course, it never hurts to have some extra power to drag around all that extra cargo room, so AMG installed another one of their 7.3-liter V12s under that pretty hood.

Mercedes-Benz 600 Landaulet
That’s not just a sheet-metal restoration. It’s been restored by HWA, the people that made the CLK-GTR, and was given modern underpinnings from a (then) new S-class. Style of the old, power of the new.

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
The Sultan didn’t just use HWA for the 600 above. Like many tuning houses, the Sultan of cars had them take a swing at a few four-wheeled wonders. Like the Mercedes above. Sure, it looks just like a normal 300 SL, but it’s got a modern drivetrain. That gives it plenty of “go” to match the gullwing “show.”

Lamborghini LM002 Wagon
What could be better than the Rambo-Lambo? How about a wagon version? Just looking at this thing pumps enough testosterone into our system to make us want to go on a Lion-hunting expedition. In the middle of a war zone.

Jaguar XJ220 Pininfarina
Think Jaguar’s XJ220 is just too ugly? Of course not. So why would you have one re-styled by Pininfarina? Because you can, and because the end result looks absolutely fantastic.

Range Rover Limo
Nowadays, it’s common to see stretched Escalades and Navigators, but this Range Rover was stretched long before big SUVs were played out.

Rolls-Royce Majestic
Styled by Bertone, this one-off Roller dubbed the Majestic is distinct enough to be noticed by those in the know, but subtle enough to be overlooked by most everyone else. Much less vulgar than say, a current Phantom.

Rolls-Royce Royale
What collection would be complete without a basic stretched Rolls-Royce? The Sultan had plenty of limos like these, but something about this Roller just gives it the quintessential “rich guy” flavor.

Source:classicdriver.com,jalopnik.com

THE SULTAN OF BRUNEI’S CAR COLLECTION