The Sultan of Brunei’s Car Collection Explained
By: By Cobus F. Potgieter
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The Sultan of Brunei’s Car Collection Explained
How the world’s largest car collection began, and a look at some of the rare Rolls-Royces, Bugattis, Ferraris, and Bentleys among the thousands of cars the sultan owns.
The Sultan of Brunei’s Car Collection is Unmatched Anywhere
The Sultan of Brunei’s car collection is, by all estimates, by far the biggest one in the world, with the biggest Rolls-Royce collection in existence. In fact, for years now, there hasn’t been any doubt about the answer when someone wanted to know who has the biggest car collection on earth; it’s been Sultan Bolkiah for decades. And it’s not just about sheer number, but about the uniqueness of many of the cars, which are bespoke and built only for him by some of the world’s most famous automakers, such as Ferrari. Brunei’s royal family’s cars are the stuff of legends and make collections like those of Jay Leno and Rick Hendrick seem tiny by comparison.
User Chin Yu Chu / Pangalau on Wikimedia via flickr images
Photo by Joe Darams on Unsplash
Where did it start? Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Muiz’zaddin Wad’daulah is the 29th sultan of the small oil- and gas-producing nation of Brunei. One of the world’s few remaining absolute monarchs, he’s been Brunei’s sultan since 1967 and prime minister since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. His net worth is believed to be over $50 billion, and it has enabled him to commission many unique and expensive cars. Several thousand of the cars in Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s car collection used to belong to his brother, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, but Prince Jefri had to relinquish them in 1997 as part of a deal with the government when it was found that he had embezzled billions.
How Many Cars does the Sultan of Brunei have?
The Sultan of Brunei’s cars have become more and more over the years, and now number at least 7,000 . The collection is held in a secure facility comprising no fewer than eight two-storey structures, enclosed in a barbed-wire fence and a bomb-proof gate. You leave your passport at the entrance and must be accompanied by a guide at all times.
Rolls Collection: The Man Who Has 600 Rolls-Royces
You would have to be very well-off to own five Rolls-Royces, but any man who owns over 500 Rolls-Royces must be one of the richest individuals on the planet. The sultan certainly has a penchant for the iconic British brand’s cars. For the Sultan of Brunei, diamond-encrusted car interiors and gold-plated bodywork are par for the course. The 24-karat gold-plated Silver Spur II with its extended wheelbase is the world’s most expensive royal car at $14 million. It doesn’t make public appearances, and there aren’t many photos of it.
Cars for You via Supercar Blondie
It’s not the only special Roller; there’s a reason why the sultan has featured in the Guinness Book of Records as long ago as 2011 for having the largest Rolls-Royce collection on the planet. It’s been said that the sultan bought almost half of Rolls-Royce’s annual production output during the early ’90s. Other special Rollers include:
- A Phantom II Continental, also called the Star of India
- A lineup of Phantom Royales
- A Statesman
- A Phantom IV, like that owned by the British royal family
- A Sweptail
- An armored Phantom VI Limousine
Ferrari Collection
The Ferrari collection comprises at least 450 cars, among them rarities such as an F50, of which only 349 units were made. But the sultan also commissioned an F50 Bolide with a uniquely designed body. There are also various 456s, including bespoke commissioned ones such as the Forest Green 456 GT Venice Cabriolet and a 456 wagon. Thankfully, the sultan has left his two 250 GTOs untouched and original. Also part of the collection are a Ferrari Mythos, 11 F40s, multiple Testarossas, and an FX.
Bentley Collection
The Bentley collection is around 400 cars strong, but some of the most interesting ones include an extended-wheelbase Mulsanne, a customized Continental GT, an armored Turbo RT, and an Azure Mulliner Convertible with 24-karat gold accents. Then the sultan also owns six examples of the famous Bentley Dominator SUV designed especially for the Brunei royal family during the ’90s. They feature uniquely handcrafted wood-and-leather interiors.
Porsche Collection
There are a lot of Porsches in the sultan’s collection, and just the 928s number over 50, of which more than 30 are 928 S4s. The sultan also owns a 928-based Carma, and multiple Carrera GTs. It goes without saying that he owns a few super-rare 959s too, one of which has been modified to a super-luxurious specification. A few of the other covetable and rare Porsches include a Daur 962 Le Mans racer and a 911 GT1 Strassenversion.
Other Stand-Out Cars
It’s impossible to list even a fraction of the 7,000-odd cars in the sultan’s collection, so besides the above-mentioned cars, here are some choice vehicles from the rest, of which he owns at least one example, but sometimes more:
- Customized AC Ace
- AC Cobra
- Several Acura NSXs
- AMC Matador
- AMC Gremlin
- ASL Garaiya concept car
- Aston Martin One-77 (at least 10)
- Aston Martin Vantage-based AM3 customization with Pininfarina bodywork
- Aston Martin V8 Vantage Special Series II with Zagato bodywork
- Aston Martin DB7 Zagato
- Audi Quattro
- BMW Nazca M12, the concept car that preceded the M1
- A gold-accented BMW Z8
- Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport
- Several Bugatti EB 110s
- Callaway Chevrolet Camaro
- Chevrolet Corvette Jankel Tempest
- Chevrolet Corvette C12 Coupe
- Cizeta Moroder V16T
- Daimler DS420 Limousin
- Dinapoli Roadster
- Fiat Barchetta
- Two Ford GTs
- Holden HSV Maloo
- A Jaguar XJ220 and a rumored but not confirmed XJ220S prototype
- Jaguar XJR-15 racer
- Koenigsegg CCXR
- Two Koenigsegg CCs
- Three Koenigsegg CC8Ss
- Five Koenigsegg CCXs
- Two Koenigsegg CCRs
- Brabus G700
- Isuzu Axiom
- Lamborghini Urraco
- Lamborghini Diablo Jota
- Lamborghini Countach
- Lamborghini LM002
- Ten McLaren F1s, of which several LMs and a long-tail GT – one of only three made
- Mercedes-Benz S73 T AMG wagon based on the W140 S-Class
- Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR
- Gold-accented and customized Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing
- Mercedes-Benz AMG SL Batmobile
- Several Mercedes-Benz SLR McLarens, some of them modified
- Mercedes-Benz AMG Sprinter van
- Lister Storm
- Maserati MC12
- Five Maserati Royales
- Five Mazda RX-7s and various MX-5s
- Three Renault 5 Turbos
Parting Thoughts
These cars don’t even begin to scratch the surface of the sultan’s collection, and it also includes very workaday cars such as regular Mitsubishis, Suzukis, and Volkswagens, not to mention many motorcycles. It boggles the mind that there are about 7,000 in total, and what it must cost to maintain them. But if money is no object, this is just another hobby, right? A hobby for the privileged few, for sure.
About the author
Cobus F. Potgieter
Cobus never shuts up about cars, and his opinion has even landed him a Toyota as a first prize in a competition for writing and presenting a television script. He’s been driving around on his parents’ farm since he was 13 and has been dabbling in the car industry on and off as a qualified Public Relation Practitioner for his entire adult life, honing his editing and writing skills.
He finally made a permanent move to motoring media in 2021 when he joined CarBuzz, where he spent more than four years in various capacities as both writer and editor. He’s quite proud of the fact that he loves all cars for different reasons, and has never repeated a brand in ten cars from 1995 to the present day. He’ll always have a soft spot for the Buick 3800 V6 that was found under the hood of one of those ten cars, and had the pleasure of owning an Australian Ford Falcon.
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What's an AMC Gremlin doing there?
I was watching a Barrett Jackson auction (I could be wrong) where the Grmlin went for just under $100,000 and a Ferrari went for under $50,000.
Maybe that was the one the Sultan bought.
He may have. I just remember laughing at the absurdity of what each sold at.
How many of these cars are daily drive around and errand cars?
Wow, 7000, most are in climate controlled garages and may never get driven again.
For the staff, servants, and wives you would need daily drivers that you wouldn't mind getting an occasional scratch or dent and can be left in the driveway.
If one of the Sultan's cars gets a scratch on it he might just discard it.
That really wouldn't surprise me. During my time in Kuwait, I've seen them do just for the same reasons.
I wonder if Elon Musk would do that as well. I'd like him to throw some of his money that gets a little flawed or soiled my way.