Credited to the Sultan but built largely by his brother Prince Jefri, the collection grew to thousands of cars before its abandonment in 1998.
Reported at around 7,000 cars and worth more than US$5 billion, the Sultan's collection was credited to him but built largely by Prince Jefri Bolkiah. It was abandoned in 1998 after Jefri's fortunes collapsed.
The car collection of the 29th Sultan of Brunei is widely described as the largest private car collection in the world, with an estimated 7,000 cars worth more than US$5 billion. Its Ferrari F40s, McLaren F1s and Rolls-Royce vehicles are the most talked-about parts, because of their rarity and value. Much of the collection is credited to the Sultan, but it was built largely by his brother, Prince Jefri Bolkiah.
How large is the Sultan of Brunei's car collection?
The collection is reported at roughly 7,000 cars, with an estimated combined value above US$5 billion. Brunei holds the Guinness World Record for the largest private Rolls-Royce collection, and the figures given for that record differ. One figure gives around 150 Rolls-Royce cars, while a later listing gives more than 500 Rolls-Royce vehicles as of 2011.
The Sultan and his brother Prince Jefri Bolkiah are said to own a further 1,998 luxury vehicles between them. Those numbers are often repeated, but they are estimates rather than a published inventory.
A collection credited to one man, built by his brother and abandoned by 1998.
Who really owned the collection?
Although the collection is usually credited to Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei, much of it really belonged to Prince Jefri Bolkiah, his third brother. Until 1997 Jefri ran the country's oil and gas revenues through the Brunei Investment Agency, alongside his own firm, Amedeo Development Corporation.
Jefri's position collapsed when oil prices crashed in 1997 during the Asian financial crisis. An audit found that he had embezzled $14.8 billion, and Amedeo failed under debts of more than $10 billion. Jefri's collection of more than 2,000 automobiles and 500 homes was part of a 2000 deal with the Bruneian government.
Jefri and his eldest son, Pengiran Muda Abdul Hakeem, had built up a collection of more than 3,500 cars by the end of the 1990s. The crown prince, Al-Muhtadee Billah, owned several sports cars of his own, including a Pagani Huayra, a Ferrari 599 GTB, a Mercedes McLaren SLR and a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640.
What happened to the collection after 1997?
The collection was not kept in good condition. Technicians abandoned it in 1998, leaving none of the cars in an operable state. The collection had once been among the largest gatherings of coachbuilt and luxury exotic cars anywhere, but it became a car cemetery, watched over only by a few Gurkhas and dogs.
Years of heat, humidity and rain did much of the damage. Some cars were later sold or moved abroad. The McLaren chassis 004 was crashed on the Tutong highway during a test by McLaren drivers, and parts from it were used as spares before the chassis was returned to McLaren.
What was on the property?
The vehicles were kept inside a large property surrounded by a tall wall topped with razor wire, with a front gate built to withstand bombs. Visitors had to give up their passports and photographs on arrival and remain with a guide. German Shepherds and armed Gurkhas guarded the site.
The property was made up of eight two-storey structures, each about 250 feet (76 m) long and 60 feet wide, with roughly 120 automobiles on each level. Porsches from the 959 onwards filled the first building, and black 1996 and 1997 Mercedes-Benz 500 cars occupied another floor.
Aston Martins, Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and 1990s Ferraris were housed in other buildings, including many 456s and 550s and some experimental XTRAC automatic transmissions. Some 550s were fitted with infrared cameras for night driving and finished in matte black to reflect radar, which was sophisticated technology for the late 1990s.
A glass-walled shop between the buildings displayed three McLaren F1s alongside a 288 GTO Evo, an F50 and an F40 LM. The F40 LM had power windows, air conditioning, red piping and a black leather interior. The building's air conditioning was off, so the showroom became very hot.
About 300 black 1995 to 1997 Mercedes-Benz SELs and SLs were parked under a corrugated roof, many with their windows down. Exposed to the tropical heat, monsoon winds and rain, they deteriorated, and the parking area became known as the reef, because it looked more useful as a man-made reef in the ocean. Many of these cars were black AMG specials with huge engines and wood or carbon fibre-trimmed interiors.
Which Bentleys were built for the collection?
Jefri and his eldest son, Abdul Hakeem, had gathered more than 650 Bentleys by the close of the 1990s, a striking total for the Crewe factory. Mulliner Park Ward, the Rolls-Royce division, formed a Blackpool team to build and test the bespoke cars, which carried names such as Dominator, Phoenix and Camelot.
Some of the cars were production copies of the Java concept vehicle, others were four-wheel-drive models, and others were customised versions of the Continental R coupe. Most of them were kept in air-conditioned warehouses in Brunei and rarely appeared in public.
The Dominator resembled a 1990s Range Rover with Bentley styling, and it was priced at $4 million each. The Sultan bought three of them. The Continental R, which debuted at the 1991 Geneva Motor Show, was priced at 146,094 pounds sterling, which put it 22,000 pounds ahead of the next most expensive Bentley.
The Sultan bought the first bright red Continental R show model while it was still on display, which launched a sizeable market in Brunei for the car. Customised versions followed, including four-door saloons, estates and convertibles.
| Model | Built | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| Bentley B2 | For Brunei only | Reskinned Continental R, estimated 17 units |
| Bentley B3 | Built 1994 to 1995 | Pininfarina design, 6.75-litre V8 with Garrett turbocharger, about a dozen bought |
| Bentley Buccaneer | Developed for Brunei | 2-door 2+2 sports coupe, 6.75-litre turbocharged V8 |
| Bentley Grand Prix | Commissioned 1994 | Aluminium body, top speed of 305 km/h |
| Bugatti EB 110 SS | Built 1991 to 1995 | Four SS models, codes 01, 02, 03 and 13 |
| Ferrari F40 | Built 1987 to 1992 | Eleven known cars bought by Jefri, ten modified |
| McLaren F1 | Built 1992 to 1998 | Ten bought by the Sultan from 106 built |
What other marques were in the collection?
The Bugatti EB 110 was a rear mid-engined sports car built from 1991 to 1995, and the royal family ordered a few of them. Four were SS models with codes 01, 02, 03 and 13. SS01 was sold in the UK in the early 2000s, while SS02, SS03 and SS13 remained in royal garages as of 2010, one of them in a 1990s paint scheme.
Other vehicles included a BMW Nazca M12 concept, designed and built by Italdesign, which was reportedly a black example in the collection. There were also right-hand drive GMC Suburbans built for Prince Jefri, fitted with Pininfarina insignia and custom interiors by Stillen. Most were black, though one had a camouflage finish.
A single-storey building beside the Mercedes-Benz fleet held about sixty cars, most of them brilliant yellow. Among them were twelve late-model Lamborghinis, including the Countach and the Diablo SE30, and four-wheel-drive Bentley station wagons.
Which Ferraris are in the collection?
The first three F50s were received when manufacture began in May 1995, and the royal family funded development of an F50 GT with three cars intended for them. The GT programme was cancelled after internal conflicts and regulatory concerns. The Ferrari 550 Bahar, named after Pengiran Muda Bahar, had a hardtop and automatic gearbox. It was badly damaged at one point, but it was fully restored around 2014.
The FX was originally an F512M, extensively modified with a body by Pininfarina and a sequential paddle-shift gearbox by Williams. Only seven were built. One dark blue example had a hydraulic gearbox and was later bought by Dick Marconi for his museum in Southern California.
Prince Jefri ordered the F90 from Pininfarina in 1988, using the Testarossa chassis as a base. He ordered six after his first, and he insisted on a fresh design even though the Mythos was nearly finished. A red F90 appeared online in 2002.
Two of the 456 cars had night vision. The 456 Venice series included seven estates and at least six saloons and six estates, plus special wheels, and the colours ranged from red and yellow to forest green and titanium.
The 288 GTO Evoluzione in the collection was one of six. It was intended as Ferrari's entry in Group B rallying before the series was cancelled, and the car in the collection had a built-in radio and was street-converted by Pininfarina.
How many McLaren F1s did the Sultan own?
The McLaren F1 was built from 1992 to 1998, and 106 were produced. The Sultan bought ten of them: five road cars, three F1 LMs, one F1 GT and one F1 GTR. Each is valued at more than US$20 million, and the Sultan's ten represented nearly one in ten of all the cars built.
Since the collection's heyday only six McLarens remain in it. A uniquely painted F1 LM has since been reported in the collection of the Sultan of Johor, and two F1 road cars have been sold and are now located abroad.
What Rolls-Royces were in the collection?
Production of the Phantom VI ran from 1968 to 1990, and the model was a favourite of the British monarchy. The Sultan commissioned four custom Silver Clouds, nicknamed the Cloudesque, with upgraded engines and transmissions.
The Silver Spur II was produced from 1989 to 1993. One famous example was a six-door landaulette with a foldable rear seat. It was used for weddings, including that of Pengiran Anak Abdul Rahim and Princess Rashidah, and the wedding of Al-Muhtadee Billah and Princess Sarah, when it was decorated with gold and a canopy.
Can the public visit the collection?
No public access is described for the collection. Accounts of the property describe strict controls on visitors, including the surrender of passports and the requirement to stay with a guide. Many of the Bentleys were kept out of sight in air-conditioned warehouses.
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