The Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, is the 29th in line since 1363. He is widely known in the automotive world for his spectacular car collection.
The world’s largest car collection
In total, there are 7,000 cars that are said to have a value of over SEK 50 billion.
On average, this is a value of approximately SEK 7.4 million per car.
The reason for the enormous value is based on the fact that the Sultan is good at special ordering cars.
Cars that don’t exist
The fact is that the Sultan has ordered a large number of completely unique cars, which in many cases do not officially exist.
The cars have mostly been spotted by the public when they have been on their way to Brunei. When you have 7,000 cars, the time behind the wheel of each car is strictly limited, so they are rarely seen on the roads.
The Sultan has several Ferrari 456 in combi version. Photo: Youtube
Among other things, the Sultan has ordered six Ferrari 456 GT Venice, a combi variant of the 456, several Bentley Dominators – the brand’s first SUV, as well as eight other Bentley models that officially do not exist – Buccaneer, Camelot, Phoenix, Imperial, Rapier, Pegasus, Silverstone, and Specter.
Huge volumes
The Sultan is not satisfied with just one copy of each car. He has, for example, two Ferrari 250 GTOs – one of the world’s absolute most expensive cars – over 600 Rolls-Royces, 11 Ferrari F40s, 10 McLaren F1s, and 380 Bentley cars.
Considering the Sultan’s huge car collection, he has accumulated a lot of clout over the years. It is not least thanks to special orders, which rhymes with huge profit margins for car manufacturers.
According to some sources, it is thanks to the sultan’s shopping spree at Bentley and Rolls-Royce during the 1990s that the brands did not go bankrupt. Having said that, it is likely that the brands would have found new owners anyway.
Ferrari is a favourite
One of the sultan’s absolute favorite brands is Ferrari, something that has given him enormous influence at the Italian marque in Maranello.
In addition to the aforementioned 456 GT Venice, the Sultan has been able to order his Ferrari cars in designs that no one else has.
The Sultan owns 11 Ferrari F40s. Photo: RM Sotheby’s
An example is the sultan’s 11 Ferrari F40. From the factory, the model was only offered in red, but the sultan had to order his cars in everything from green, to black, to white, to gray. His cars also had higher power than is standard.
What makes the F40 unique is that it is the last car that Enzo Ferrari himself approved.
Another example is one of the Sultan’s Ferrari Enzo which was painted matte black from the factory. It is the only matte black Enzon in the entire world.
Cars break down
Many of the cars have barely been driven, which is rarely good for older cars. Namely, the mechanical parts of a car tend to age quickly if they are not used regularly.
Unfortunately, the 7,000 car collection means that many of the cars, which have been parked since they were purchased, are in really bad shape.
Pictures from inside the collections are hard to find, but some photos have slipped out over the years The Drive have reported.