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The Sultan of Brunei's 5,000-strong car collection will blow your mind

The Sultan of Brunei has one of the biggest and most impressive, if not the biggest, car collection in the world. It allegedly includes, or at one time included, about 5,000 cars. Pictures scanned and turned into a video give us a rare peek into this amazing collection that’s hidden from the world in a nation smaller than the state of Delaware.

The staff keeping an eye on the collection is instructed to not let anyone in without the Sultan’s approval, and the lucky precious few allowed to meander around are usually banned from taking pictures. We don’t know how the photographer who compiled the video got in, but the photos he brought back are breathtaking. The Sultan’s garage includes not one, not two, but nine examples of the McLaren F1, including a rare and highly sought-after limited-edition GTR model.

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Do you like Bugattis? He’s got at least three, all of which are the 110EB model from the 1990s. He might have added a Chiron or a Veyron to his collection, too; he’s not the kind to brag about his newest toy on a forum or at Cars and Coffee. His collection also includes 18 Acura NSXs, over 300 Ferraris, 20 Koenigseggs, and 600 Rolls-Royces. In fact, during the 1990s about half of Rolls-Royce’s production allegedly went to the Sultan or his family, and it sounds like not a single one was sold thereafter.

NEVER BEFORE SEEN Sultan of Brunei pictures Dauer 962, 959, McLaren F1, yellow F50, Ferrari FX

The video also shows a few rare, one-of-a-kind creations you’ll never seen elsewhere. Many assume Bentley’s very first SUV was the Bentayga, but the company designed an off-roader named Dominator in the early 1990s and built approximately six examples of it. The model was commissioned by the Sultan of Brunei, meaning he paid for everything from the design sketches to the development work to production. Of course, he bought all six examples.

As Motor Authority accurately points out, the Sultan’s brother was investigated for fraud several years ago, and some of the cars were allegedly listed for sale by a company based in New Zealand. The pictures in the video were taken in 1999, when there were over 5,000 cars in the collection and most of them were still in tip-top shape even though they hadn’t been driven in years.

How many cars are left in the Sultan’s collection today and what shape they’re in is a mystery.

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
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