Sultan of Brunei's Car Collection

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This former BRF Bentley Val D'Isere is coming up for auction soon:



It is one of 11 commissioned by the BRF. This one being SCBZR04A6NCH44245.

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© https://www.classicdriver.com/de/car/bentley/turbo/1992/1077852

 

This is actually the identical sprinter. Car was resprayed from yellow to black and then ultimately sold.

Other Sprinters were exposed to Brunei's humidity and heat and did not age as well as other models:
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Did it also get reupholstered from red to black

 

I think it got reupholstered from red to tan leather interior, right? This is WDB9040622P650166.
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They had them in all kinds of colors I guess:

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I'm not sure. The AMG Sprinters of Brunei hurts my head a lot as it's a confusing one-off

 

Actually maybe this is not the same car as the yellow example. I was told this car now belongs to a certain collector in Brunei who had painted the rusted side in black and pretty much restored the outside except for the interior. He's the same guy who had the silver Cont.R 4-door

 

Hagerty / Larry Chen .... (54 min!)

I asked the Brunei Royal Family To See Their 5 Billion Dollar Collection



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Interesting that he was able to get so close to ask the question. It’d take over a month to film the entire collection properly. That maroon Rolls Royce is pretty cool with the fender flares lol.

 

54 minutes to show a 30 second clip of him talking to the royals, getting ghosted and thus not getting access to the good stuff, resulting in him filming abandoned cars rotting away at the Princess' compound. Still a cool video, but the highlights ended up being the inserted photos that we've already seen.

 

I think we are taking about different AMG Sprinters. Let's entangle this real quick.

WDB9040622P650166 was originally delivered in a bright yellow paint job with red interior. I don't know if the car ever made it to Brunei but it was definitely ordered by the BRF.
Unfortunately, I don't have any high resolutions on my hard drive (any more).
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The car was later than resprayed from yellow to black, keeping its original red leather interior.
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Eventually, it was reupholstered.
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The car was auctioned off 8th March 2014:
https://www.historics.co.uk/auction/lot/285-2004-mercedes-benz--amg-business-lounge-concept-vehicle/?lot=12419&sd=1

The VIN of this pictured AMG Sprinter is unknown. I think it appears in Hagerty's youtube video.

 

Such a shame, I thought this would be the automotive doc film of the century - finally bringing this coveted collection in detail to light. Prince Mateen didn't seem open to the idea - seemed like a polite way of saying "no". Was interesting to hear how many of the cars are getting sold off though.

 

I think we'll see it happen sooner rather than later. Maybe not from him, but someone else with bigger connections. I was told a photographer is going all around the world to photograph each McLaren F1. One of the cars I know is rarely seen in public and is being photographed for that effort. I would think that's the best chance we will have to see the Brunei F1s at least.

 

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Rolls Royce Cloudesque SCAZH13C4VCH00469 spotted heading to Brunei. Pictures are just a couple of weeks old thanks to © bentleyspotting

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Bentley Val D'Isere in Brunei
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Well in fairness the video is titled i ASKED the sulta... Not I PHOTOGRAPHED.

 

I think Larry has a strong chance or as strong as any.

The guy flying around to photograph mcf1... Is he anybody other than a photographer?

Just because he has special access to some cars doesn't mean a thing to The sultan of Brunei. It won't win any favor.

A photographer won't get access in my opinion. A journalist MIGHT.

What does sultan needs or wants which he may or may not realize it yet is he needs a marketing team or a story teller.

The photographs are what is embarrassing. The objects are embarrassing.

The only thing that is going to get him to sign off on it is if someone can convince him a positive narrative can be told or spun out of it.

Photos documenting the cars will just allow the world/internet/people/subjects to cast their own story.

The photos/coverage must come with a story.

Larry chen is Asian and is moving around in all sorts of South East Asian circles documenting car culture and has been putting on events to celebrate the car with a focus on NOT being hooked on with degeneracy and street takeovers. Larry chen is becoming more and more of a story teller and not just a photographer. He is becoming a documentary producer and story teller.

I think a person like this has the best chance to convince the sultan.

The narrative needs to be that Brunei contributed to world culture and never took credit for it. That they saved these world famous brands through investment. That they helped push f1 technology into road cars by funding Ferrari or whatever. That they were the silent backer of this amazing industry and legendary brands without ever taking credit. That they allowed the world departments of these manufacturers to express themselves in the form of art and engineering to produce special cars.

The cars weren't purchased as a way to flaunt their wealth but to continue the brands excellence into the future etc... and they didn't need credit which is why they locked them in the basement.

It wasn't really a prince drunk on money spending it like scrooge mcduck... It was investing in artistans and craftsman keeping Italian and British motoring legends alive.


Or something like that