Sultan of Brunei: 11 of His Most Unique and Rare Cars

Take it from the Sultan of Brunei to do things extravagantly. Even from birth, he has already been prepping himself up for an "over-the-top lifestyle" experience.

Take his name, for instance. He's known as Hassanal Bolkiah, but his complete name is Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam.

But that's just the teaser. His name isn't the only one in excess here; the Sultan of Brunei is excessively wealthy as well. In fact, he's considered the richest monarch in the world as of 2016.

So how much money does he bring in? His Majesty earns around $100 per second from oil earnings and other investments. He gets around $2 billion per year, with a total net worth of about $20 billion.

Car Enthusiast to the Extreme

He's also notoriously known as an avid collector of vehicles.

While most of us would satisfy our car fantasies by buying their toy versions, his Majesty (together with the Sultan's eldest son and his brother) likes to indulge his car fetishes by buying the actual vehicles themselves.

The Sultan also has this strange habit of owning a model for each color that his favorite cars came in. And he is not satisfied with just one model -- he tends to buy two or more of the same model for himself and his family. For instance, he has 70 Ferrari 456 GTs, 80 Bentley Turbo Rs, and 25 BMW 750iLs to name a few.

The Sultan of Brunei's Car Collection

There are around 7,000 vehicles that His Majesty owns, although this number changes occasionally.

Before their fallout in the early 90s, he and his brother, Prince Jefri, also loved to collect brands, favoring Rolls Royces, Mercedes Benzes, and Ferraris. Here's a breakdown of their most bought cars:

Rolls Royce - 604 cars
Mercedes-Benz - 574 cars
Ferrari - 452 cars
Bentley - 382  cars
BMW - 209  cars
Jaguar - 179 cars
Koenigsegg - 134 cars
Lamborghini - 21 cars
Aston Martin - 11 cars

It takes around an hour to 1.5 hours for many of these cars to be brought out, since the garage has the size of five aircraft hangars or ten football fields (combined).

And not all the cars are used -- or even engine-started for years. Unfortunately, more than half are left rotting and 'beyond saving'. Still, there are more than enough vehicles left to suit his extremely luxurious lifestyle. Some of the rare and unique ones include these vehicles:

1. Rolls-Royce Phantom VI

This car was only available through special order until the early 90s, and it takes around 800 man hours just to make the body. One of its most avid patrons was not just the British Monarchy itself, but the Sultan of Brunei as well.

Named Rolls-Royce Cloudesque, he had two of them custom-built for himself, redesigning the boot to resemble a Rolls Royce Silver Seraph.

2. Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR

The Mercedes Benz CLK GTR was originally designed for the FIA GT Championship Race, and boasts of a 6.9-liter V12 engine with 612 hp. What makes it a standout is that it’s the one and only GTR version in the world that offers right-hand driving.

3. 24-Carat Gold-Plated Rolls Royce

The Sultan used a Rolls Royce Silver Spur II stretch limousine for his wedding day. But to make it fit for royalty, he had the entire car plated with pure 24-carat gold. The price was $14 million.

4. Bentley Java

The Bentley Java was really just a concept car when it came out in 1994, and only 18 made-to-order Javas were produced. This car was built on a BMW 5 platform, with a 3.5-liter V8 Twin Turbo engine and a top speed of 250 km/h.

5. Ferrari Mythos

Another concept car, the Ferrari Mythos was not intended to be sold to the public. Capable of speeding up to 290 km/h, the Sultan had two of these custom-made for himself.

6. 24-Carat Gold-Plated Mercedes Benz

Not much is known about the Sultan’s gold Mercedes Benz-- except that it exists.

7. Ferrari FX

There’s a total of nine FXs made in the world, with six of them purchased by the Sultan of Brunei.

What makes it quite extraordinary is that it was really created for the Sultan himself. What Ferrari did was to take apart the Ferrari 512M and change its body to the more curvy structure of the Pininfarina. It was then outfitted with a gearbox that’s meant for a Formula One unit.

8. Rolls Royce Phantom II Continental - Star of India

Considered the most expensive Rolls Royce, this $14 million car once belonged to His Highness Dharmendrasinhji Lakhajiraj, the Thakore Sahib (Lord) of Rajkot city.

The Sultan of Brunei purchased this at an auction, for which the car was awarded a Guinness World Record for being the most expensive vehicle in the world that was ever sold during an auction.

Created in 1934, the Star of India has a six-cylinder V12 engine, with an output of 120 hp.

9. Aston Martin V8 Vantage Special Series II

There are only three of these cars ever manufactured in the world — and they were all made for the Sultan.

Re-bodied by Italian coachbuilder, Zagato, the cars have an increased engine power of 600 bhp, thanks to their V600 platform. They can go from 0-60 mph at around 4.4 seconds, with a top speed of 330 km/h.

10. McLaren F1

Considered ’The greatest automobile ever created' and 'The Most Excellent Sports Car Of All Time' among car enthusiasts and lovers alike, the McLaren F1 was sure to catch the eye of the Sultan of Brunei right from the start.

This car is listed as one of the fastest naturally aspirated cars currently available in the world, with only 106 manufactured between 1992 and 1998.

11. Mercedes-Benz S73 T AMG wagon

No, this isn’t a model that’s made for boring and "peasant" drivers like us. This vehicle was specifically created by Mercedes Benz for the Sultan of Brunei only. And he has ten of these, to be exact.

The AMG Wagon is just a modified W140 Mercedes-Benz S-Class that’s changed into a wagon. It has a 7.3-liter V12 engine that delivers 565 hp.

Bad news ALL the cars are in a state of disrepair

Unfortunately, many of the cars are currently no longer drivable due to neglect. Recent visitors to the collection report seeing rotting in many of the cars, and even mold growth in some of the interiors. Some have even stayed unused, with zero odometer readings. Who could imagine over 7,000 of the finest cars ever made just sitting there, dying a miserable death? What a shame indeed, but such is often the case for those who revel in opulence.

Updated by Wilbert Tan on July 5, 2020

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