You've probably seen the grainy photos. A sea of dusty supercars, rows of yellow Ferraris, and rumors of a gold-plated Rolls-Royce that looks more like a jewelry box than a vehicle. It sounds like an urban legend, but the Sultan of Brunei's car collection is very real. And honestly? It is far weirder and more tragic than the clickbait headlines suggest.
Basically, we are talking about a fleet of roughly 7,000 vehicles with an estimated value of $5 billion. To put that in perspective, the Sultan and his brother, Prince Jefri, were single-handedly responsible for keeping brands like Rolls-Royce and Bentley alive during the 1990s. At one point, they were buying nearly half of the entire global production of these luxury marques.
The Myth of the 7,000-Car Garage
The first thing people get wrong is the "where." You can't just shove 7,000 cars into a home garage. The collection is spread across several massive, climate-controlled aircraft hangars in Brunei.
These aren't just parking spots. They are specialized wings dedicated to specific brands. One floor for Porsches (from 959s to 993s). Another for black-on-black Mercedes-Benzes. Entire sections for Aston Martins and Bentleys that the general public has never even seen in a brochure.
But here is the kicker. Recent leaks and accounts from people who have managed to get a peek inside—like the photos that surfaced on the @stopthegatekeepingloris Instagram account—suggest a grim reality. While the "crown jewels" are kept in pristine condition, hundreds, maybe thousands, of these cars are literally rotting. The tropical humidity is a killer. Leather dashboards are curling. Electronic systems are fried. In the car world, this is the equivalent of the Library of Alexandria slowly molding away.
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The Secret Ferraris That "Don't Exist"
If you call Ferrari today and ask for a station wagon, they’ll probably hang up on you (unless you're talking about the Purosangue, but that’s an SUV). However, back in the 90s, the Brunei royals had enough "get out of jail free" money to make Ferrari do the unthinkable.
They commissioned the Ferrari 456 GT Venice.
It is a four-door station wagon. Yes, a Ferrari wagon.
Pininfarina built seven of them. Prince Jefri took six and left one behind. Each cost around $1.5 million at the time. But that was just the beginning of the custom madness. The collection includes:
- The Ferrari F90: A top-secret project from 1988. Six were built using Testarossa mechanicals but with a completely custom body. Ferrari didn’t even officially acknowledge they existed until 2005.
- The Ferrari FX: This one had a sequential gearbox developed by the Williams F1 team years before paddle-shifters were standard on road cars.
- The Mythos: Originally a concept car for the Tokyo Motor Show. Ferrari said they wouldn't build it for production. The Sultan said "watch me" and had two (some say three) road-going versions made.
Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and the Gold Standard
The Sultan holds the Guinness World Record for the largest private Rolls-Royce collection. We are talking over 600 cars. The most famous—or infamous—is the Rolls-Royce Silver Spur II used for his wedding.
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It’s plated in 24-karat gold.
Total value? Roughly $14 million.
Beyond the gold, the family commissioned "secret" Bentleys that weren't in any catalog. The Bentley Dominator is a great example. It was a luxury SUV built in 1996, long before the Bentayga was even a sketch in a designer's head. They ordered six of them at $4.6 million each. They also have the Bentley Buccaneer, a sleek coupe that looks nothing like the boxy Bentleys of that era.
Why the Collection Matters in 2026
You might wonder why we’re still talking about 90s supercars. It’s because the Sultan of Brunei's car collection is a time capsule of an era where manufacturers would do literally anything for a check.
Today, Prince Abdul Mateen is reportedly taking a more active role in managing the fleet. Some of the most valuable pieces, like the McLaren F1s (they once had 10, now roughly 7 remain), are being maintained and occasionally sent back to the factory for restoration. One of their F1s was recently spotted looking brand new in pearl white.
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But for every McLaren being saved, there are hundreds of Mercedes S-Classes and BMWs with 0 miles on the odometer that will likely never drive again. Their tires have flat-spotted into squares. Their fuel lines have turned to gum.
The Rarest of the Rare:
- Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione: Only six were ever made. It was the bridge between the 288 GTO and the F40. The Sultan has one, though it's reportedly seen better days.
- Dauer 962 Le Mans: A road-legal version of a Le Mans-winning race car. They bought five out of the very limited production run.
- Jaguar XJ220 Pininfarina: The standard XJ220 wasn't special enough, so they had Pininfarina redesign the body.
The Actionable Truth
If you are a car enthusiast or a collector, there is a lesson here. This collection is the ultimate proof that cars are meant to be driven, not just "stored." When you leave a $2 million machine sitting for 30 years without turning the key, you aren't "preserving" it—you're slowly destroying it.
If you want to keep track of this saga, follow the niche Instagram accounts and forums like Exclusive Car Registry. Every few months, a new photo leaks or a car is spotted being loaded onto a plane at Brunei International Airport. These are the only ways we get to see what’s actually happening behind those hangar doors.
The next time you feel bad about putting miles on your weekend car, just think about those dusty, forgotten Ferraris in Brunei. Machines have a soul, and that soul dies when the engine stays silent.
What you can do next: Start by researching the "Ferrari Brunei" listings on specialized registries to see the known VIN numbers and colors. If you’re ever in London, keep an eye out around The Dorchester hotel—the Sultan’s family often brings a rotating selection of their "running" fleet to the UK during the summer months.