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The Sultan of Brunei has so many cars in his private collection that if a different one were to be driven daily, it would take around 19 years to work through the entire collection. Valued at around $5 billion and totaling over 7,000 cars, the Sultan of Brunei - also known as Hassanal Bolkiah - has the most envied car collection in the world. However, that number is disputed, with various sources suggesting the collection consists of just under 2,400 cars. Either way, it's more cars than any family could possibly know what to do with, making Jay Leno's 180-car collection look decidedly meek.
The collection was assembled with Hassanal's brother, Jefri Bolkiah (or Prince Jefri), and other royal family members in Brunei, a Southeast Asian country.
When we dug into the Sultan's collection over a decade ago, it was worth approximately $300,000,000, and it's continued proliferating since then. Naturally, it's impossible to discuss every single car, so we'll focus on a few, bearing in mind that clear photography and final specifications of these cars are often elusive.
We've also highlighted a few bespoke models that were once part of the Brunei collection but have since been acquired by new owners, as these provide further insight into the creativity behind many of the commissions.
The Bentleys
Many of the Sultan's Bentleys are from the 1980s and 1990s, being based on the Azure or Continental. VINWiki suggests that these Bentleys alone are worth approximately $80 million.
The Bentley Dominator SUV is one of the most unusual, simply because it's a Bentley SUV that arrived long before the Bentayga. The Sultan is so rich, he was able to commission a few of these SUVs, which are said to borrow bits from the Range Rover. Each one carried a cost of around $4.6 million, and this cash injection helped Bentley navigate troubled times in the 1990s.
Other unique Bentleys in the collection include the Continental R Superfast, the Buccaneer GT coupe, and the Java with its powerful twin-turbo V8. The latter was ordered in wagon form, too. You can find other intriguingly named Bentleys from the Brunei collection here, including the Phoenix convertible, Camelot coupe, and Highlander four-door GT.
The Ferraris
The world's most extensive car collection isn't short of Italian exotica. Here, we are once again reminded of the Sultan's penchant for completely personalized cars. For him, it's not enough owning a rare Ferrari F50 (only 349 were made), so he went several steps further and ordered an F50 Bolide. Essentially, this uses the chassis and V12 from the Prancing Horse's F1 car with a completely redesigned body.
There is also a Testarossa F90 Speciale, combining the internals of the Testarossa with a custom body designed by Pininfarina. The legendary F40 is also part of the collection, as are two 250 GTOs. We're relieved that the 250 GTOs are not bespoke; after all, this is a car with a design that was legally ruled a work of art a few years ago. As for the F40s, several are part of the collection and were customized by Pininfarina. Five were converted to right-hand drive and finished in colors like Emerald Green, white, and black with custom leather interiors. This is notable since Ferrari only produced F40s in red (Rosso Corsa) over a red cloth interior.
This collector also has a fondness for Ferrari 456s and has commissioned many bespoke examples, including the gorgeous 456 GT Venice Cabriolet. It's finished in one-off Forest Green with a green interior, and the soft top was sourced from a Mercedes SL, but it retains a classic Ferrari V12. Other 456 Venice-badged Ferraris in the collection include an incredibly cool wagon, captured in London a while back.
A Ferrari FX also has a place in the Sultan's garage, as does the Ferrari Mythos.
This is only a glimpse into the multiple Ferraris in this astonishing collection.
The Porsches
The collection includes 32 Porsche 928 S4s alone, part of a broader group of 55 928s. Even though the 928 was never as revered as the 911, it proved that Porsche could branch out into other segments if it wanted to, providing a more comfortable GT alternative to the 911 of the period. Besides, the 928 was good enough for the Sultan to add over 50 of them to his collection.
He also has more than one Porsche 959, despite less than 350 ever being made. At some point, the Sultan commissioned a Porsche 911 (964) featuring the X88 power package and stunning Horizon Blue paintwork, which was then owned by Jenson Button.
Another stand-out model is the Daur 962 Le Mans, a racer based on the Porsche 962. Only 13 road-going versions were made, and it's understood the Sultan owns five of them. A Carrera GT is part of the extensive collection, too.
The Rolls-Royces
The Sultan of Brunei previously entered the Guinness World Record books in 2011 for having the largest private Rolls-Royce collection in the world. The current number is unknown but is estimated to be over 600 unique models bearing the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine. Astonishingly, he accounted for nearly half of all Rolls-Royce sales in the 1990s.
On his wedding day, the Sultan paraded in a stretched Silver Spur II plated with 24-carat gold. To say it was an obnoxious display of wealth is an understatement. Following this customization, the Silver Spur II was valued at around $14 million. Other Rolls luxury models include the Phantom VI, several Phantom Royales, and a Statesman. The Phantom VI is famous for previously being owned by the British monarchy.
Another incredible addition is the Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental, also known as the Star of India. This 1934 model was sold for around $14 million, also entering it into the Guinness World Record books.
The Aston Martins
The Sultan commissioned a number of customized Aston Martins, including the AM3, a grand tourer based on the Vantage but with a unique body from Pininfarina. The blacked-out strip across the nose is an especially unusual styling feature. In the 1990s, the Sultan also ordered the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Special Series II, with coachbuilder Zagato responsible for the redesigned bodies.
Some years ago, Bonhams listed a 1994 Aston Martin Vantage Coupe for sale that was formerly owned by the Sultan. But he wasn't only stuck in the 1990s, and also ordered around 10 Aston Martin One-77s, quite a feat when you consider only 77 were made. Powered by a 7.3-liter V12, the One-77 can hit 220 mph.
The McLarens
Reportedly, the Sultan owns 10 of the 106 McLaren F1s produced. Only three of these F1s were the GT versions with the stretched "Longtail" body, and naturally, one of these ultra-rare cars became the property of the Sultan. Last year, the Brunei Car Collection page on Instagram shared images of this GT being loaded onto a plane. The family also owns more than one McLaren F1 LM. Only five examples of the track-oriented LM were made with reduced sound deadening, no sound system, and no rear wing, among other changes.
We think it's safe to assume that the royal family own several other McLarens, too, but this is unconfirmed.
The Bugattis
What would the world's wildest car collection be without the presence of Bugatti? The Sultan of Brunei is said to have ordered several Bugatti EB 110s. Only 139 examples of the EB 110 mid-engine supercar were produced in the 1990s. One of the cars owned by the family is chassis 39003, finished in a searing yellow over a Nero Inchios interior. It was delivered in early 1994. This was the fourth EB 110 SS ordered by the Sultan.
We stumbled upon another EB 110 S, chassis 39001, which was put up for sale in the late 2000s. Finished in silver, it came with a plaque stating, 'Bugatti has the pleasure of producing for the Royal Family of Brunei the first of its model EB110S Super Sport car.'
The EB 110's 3.5-liter V12 was boosted by four turbochargers, and it could reach a top speed in excess of 210 mph.
The more modern Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport is also believed to be part of the collection.
Best Of The Rest
As mentioned, it's impossible to cover every car in the Sultan's collection. It's also not possible to verify the current number of cars, where they're all stationed, and what their condition is. However, there are a few individual models that are also worth a mention as being part of the collection currently, or having been part of it at some stage.
BMW Nazca M12
A concept intended to be a successor to the M1, the Nazca M12 was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 1991. It's a shame that the car wasn't greenlit for production, owing to its spectacular lines and 5.0-liter V12 engine shared with the 850i. Despite this, the power and wealth of the Sultan were enough to get Italdesign to produce a version of it for him. This could almost be considered the last "proper" BMW supercar with a powerful large-capacity engine since the modern i8 was more of an experimental exercise into performance hybrids.
Mercedes-Benz S73 T AMG Wagon
Long before every second Mercedes had an AMG badge stuck to it, the manufacturer built something extraordinary. The S73 T AMG Wagon is based on the W140 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but it has a monster 7.3-liter V12 engine - an engine shared with the Pagani Zonda C12S. It made over 550 hp, which was quite something for the 1990s. The fact that this performance came in a wagon-style body of the over-engineered W140 makes it that much more interesting.
Koenigsegg CCXR
Valued at $1.3 million when purchased, the rare CCXR is a more environmentally-friendly version of the CCX, as it features a 4.8-liter flex-fuel engine that can run on biofuels. Despite that, it can still produce over 1,000 hp when running on E85 biofuel, and the Sultan is one of the few people ever to have access to this special machine.
The Sultan of Brunei's collection is also known to include the following cars:
- Lamborghini Diablo
- Lamborghini Urraco
- Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Coupe
- Brabus G700
- Jaguar XJ220
- Mercedes-Benz SL
