00:00Five billion dollars.
00:02That's not a country's defense budget or a tech company's valuation.
00:05That's the estimated worth of one man's private car collection.
00:09While most car enthusiasts dream of owning just one exotic vehicle,
00:14Sultan Hassanal Bulkaya of Brunei has amassed what might be the most valuable automotive treasure trove on earth.
00:21A collection so vast and secretive that it's become the stuff of automotive legend.
00:27Some say he owns over 7,000 cars.
00:31Others claim many of his rarest vehicles have never even been driven.
00:36What's the truth behind this mysterious collection that's larger than most public museums?
00:41Today, we're diving deep into the garage that puts most billionaires to shame.
00:47The man behind the collection.
00:49Before we explore the cars, let's understand the collector.
00:53Sultan Hassanal Bulkaya isn't just wealthy.
00:56He's been one of the richest men on the planet for decades.
01:00As the 29th Sultan of Brunei, a tiny oil rich nation on the island of Borneo, his personal fortune once peaked at over 20 billion dollars.
01:10Coming to power in 1967, the Sultan developed his automotive obsession during the oil boom of the 1970s and 80s.
01:18With essentially unlimited resources at his disposal, he transformed from casual collector to automotive curator on an unprecedented scale.
01:28The Royal Garage, unlike typical car collections displayed in purpose-built museums, most of the Sultan's vehicles remain hidden from public view in massive climate-controlled garages across Brunei.
01:40Some reports suggest these facilities span over 2 million square feet, equivalent to about 35 football fields.
01:49The collection is managed by a dedicated team of mechanics and specialists who maintain these automotive treasures in perfect running condition.
01:58Legend has it that every car is started at least once every two weeks, creating a logistical operation that would challenge most professional fleet managers.
02:08Ferrari Fever
02:10If there's one brand that dominates the Sultan's collection, it's Ferrari.
02:14Estimates suggest he owns somewhere between 300 and 500 Ferraris, more than any other private collector on Earth and possibly more than 10% of all Ferraris ever produced.
02:25The crown jewel might be his Ferrari FX, a one-of-six special commission based on the Testarossa.
02:32With a top speed of 202 miles per hour and a sequential gearbox from the Formula One team Williams, this vehicle alone is valued at over $2 million.
02:43Perhaps even more impressive are his Ferrari F40s, yes, plural.
02:49While most collectors would sacrifice a limb for just one F40, the Sultan reportedly owns between 7 and 11 examples.
02:57Some sources claim he ordered them in different colors, despite Ferrari's insistence that the F40 only came in red, a privilege afforded to perhaps no other customer in Ferrari history.
03:10British luxury
03:12The Sultan's relationship with British luxury brands is particularly notable.
03:16His collection includes over 500 Bentleys and Rolls Royces, many with custom modifications that wouldn't be available to even the wealthiest ordinary customers.
03:26Take, for example, his collection of Bentley Dominator SUVs.
03:30Before the Bentayga made its debut in 2015, Bentley had never produced an SUV.
03:37However, in 1994, the Sultan commissioned six custom Dominators at a reported cost of $3 million each.
03:45These vehicles essentially created the super luxury SUV segment two decades before it became mainstream.
03:52His Rolls Royce collection is equally impressive, featuring numerous one-off creations.
03:58This includes a fleet of 24-carat gold-plated Rolls Royce Silver Spurs that regularly make headlines when spotted on Brunei streets.
04:07The maintenance costs alone for these vehicles would bankrupt most luxury car owners.
04:12The McLaren Unicorns
04:16Perhaps nothing illustrates the Sultan's automotive influence better than his McLaren collection.
04:21When the McLaren F1, once the world's fastest production car, debuted in the 1990s, the Sultan purchased approximately 10% of the entire production run.
04:32But standard F1s weren't enough.
04:35The Sultan commissioned special F1s including the legendary McLaren F1 LM, of which only five were produced for public sale.
04:44The Sultan reportedly owns two, plus the prototype.
04:47Even more exclusive is his McLaren F1 GT.
04:51Only three were ever built, and one belongs to the Sultan.
04:57With a top speed of 240 miles per hour and a 0-60 time of 3.2 seconds, these vehicles remain automotive royalty decades after their production.
05:08The Bugatti Affair
05:10The Sultan's relationship with Bugatti is particularly fascinating.
05:14Before Volkswagen revived the brand in the early 2000s, Bugatti was on the brink of another failed revival in the 1990s.
05:23During this period, the Sultan ordered what might be the single largest purchase of ultra-luxury cars in history.
05:29He commissioned approximately 300 Bugattis at a time, when the company was struggling to deliver even small production runs.
05:37This included dozens of EB110S, the revolutionary supercar featuring a quad-turbo, 3.5-liter V12 engine producing 603 horsepower.
05:49The Sultan didn't stop there.
05:51He ordered numerous one-off Bugatti models, including the Bugatti EB112 sedan and EB118 coupe.
06:00When Bugatti failed financially before delivering many of these vehicles, the Sultan reportedly purchased numerous unfinished chassis and completed them with his own engineering team.
06:12The Missing Masterpieces
06:14One of the most intriguing aspects of the collection is what automotive historians call the Missing Masterpieces.
06:21Ultra-rare vehicles purchased by the Sultan that have essentially disappeared from public view.
06:27Take, for example, the Ferrari Mythos concept car.
06:30This fully functional prototype debuted at the Tokyo Auto Show in 1989.
06:36Shortly after its public appearance, it reportedly joined the Sultan's collection, never to be seen in public again.
06:43The same goes for the Bentley Java concept, the Ferrari Testarossa F90 Speciale, and numerous other one-off concept cars that major manufacturers sold directly to the Sultan instead of preserving them in their own corporate museums.
06:58The Jaguars and Mercedes
07:00Though less publicized than his Italian exotics, the Sultan's collection of Jaguars and Mercedes vehicles is equally impressive.
07:08He reportedly owns over 150 rare Jaguars, including multiple XJ220 supercars and several custom-built shooting brake variants of standard Jaguar models.
07:20His Mercedes collection includes over 600 vehicles, highlighted by an extensive array of Mercedes-Benz CLK GTRs, the homologation special of which only 25 were produced for public sale.
07:35Sources suggest the Sultan owns as many as 20 CLK GTRs in various specifications.
07:42Perhaps most impressive is his collection of Mercedes-Benz 600 Grosser Limousines, the hand-built flagship sedan once favored by celebrities and heads of state.
07:52The Sultan reportedly owns over 30 examples, many modified with armor plating and custom interiors featuring precious metals and stones.
08:01The American Classics
08:03While European exotics dominate headlines about the collection, the Sultan also appreciates American automotive craftsmanship.
08:11His garage includes dozens of rare muscle cars, including multiple Shelby Cobras, Plymouth Superbirds, and Dodge Charger Daytonas.
08:20The Sultan also owns what might be the world's largest collection of custom-bodied Cadillacs, including numerous stretch limousines and one-off convertibles featuring gold-plated trim and exotic leathers sourced from endangered species before such materials became regulated.
08:36The Daily Drivers
08:38Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this collection is which vehicles actually receive regular use.
08:45Palace Insiders report that despite having access to thousands of exotic vehicles,
08:50the Sultan often prefers to be driven in relatively modest Mercedes S-Class limousines for day-to-day activities.
08:57For personal driving, he reportedly favors his collection of Ferraris and custom Bentleys,
09:03many of which have been spotted on Brunei's immaculately maintained roads, with the Sultan himself behind the wheel.
09:10The Controversy
09:11No discussion of this collection would be complete without acknowledging the controversy surrounding it.
09:17Critics point out that the billions spent on these vehicles could have funded significant development projects in a country where the average citizen earns less than $50,000 annually.
09:28Others note the environmental impact of maintaining thousands of high-performance vehicles, many of which consume extraordinary amounts of fuel when driven.
09:38The carbon footprint of starting and maintaining these vehicles is substantial, even if many rarely leave their climate-controlled garages.
09:47The future of the collection
09:50As the Sultan ages, he's now in his late 70s, questions arise about the future of this unprecedented collection.
09:57Unlike art collections that typically appreciate over time, many vehicles require constant maintenance to retain their value.
10:05Some automotive experts speculate that portions of the collection may eventually be sold or donated to museums.
10:12Others believe the collection will remain intact, passed down to the Sultan's heirs as a symbol of Brunei's oil-funded prosperity during the late 20th century.
10:22What's certain is that this $5 billion collection represents more than just one man's obsession with automobiles.
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