Vehicle Description
Virtually any automobile enthusiast who's picked up a magazine or
scrolled forums in the last 20-plus years is undoubtedly familiar
with The Sultan of Brunei. As the absolute monarch of a small,
oil-rich Southeast Asian nation, he rose to fame as one of the
world's richest men, raking in billions of dollars of revenue from
a lucrative partnership with Royal Dutch Shell. Such fabulous
wealth allowed the Sultan and his family to lead extravagant lives,
and petrolheads have long been obsessed with their astonishing car
collection, rumored to approach 7,000 vehicles! Yet, beyond the
sheer scale of the collection, the near-mythical nature of the cars
themselves is what fascinates. The Royal Family had the means to
indulge in their wildest motoring fantasies, resulting in four-door
Ferraris, Bentley SUVs, Ferrari station wagons, multiple McLaren
F1s, a fleet of Jaguar XJ220s, a room full of Ferrari Enzos, dozens
of coachbuilt Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, one-off prototypes, and
much more. Nearly all were produced in secrecy, then squirreled
away on the tiny sovereign nation on the Island of Borneo, some
never to be driven or seen again. The assumption has often been
that the entire collection belonged to the Sultan; however, much of
the unbridled spending was done by his brother, HRH Prince Jefri
Bolkiah. Prince Jefri served as Minister of Finance and head of the
state-run Amedeo Development Corporation, which handled the
country's infrastructure and served as the parent for a network of
over 250 shell companies, which controlled lavish properties and
hotels around the world, including the swanky Beverly Hills Hotel.
Such a position gave Prince Jefri the power to write the checks,
and oh boy, did he write them! He burned nearly fifteen billion
dollars on cars, jets, helicopters, yachts, polo ponies, art, a rug
of solid gold thread - most of which was waved under his nose by a
pair of enterprising London-based brokers, Rafi and Vatche "Bob"
Manoukian. Prince Jefri later alleged the Manoukians charged
anywhere from 100-600 percent markups on everything they handled
for him and the Royal Family, and thus made a handy profit for
themselves. Cars were always a hot-ticket item, and while Ferraris
and Lamborghinis were the obvious choices for the Royals, it wasn't
until the late 1980s that the family forged its long - and vitally
important - relationship with Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motors. All
thanks to the Manoukians... and a 15-year-old kid. In 1988, Jefri's
eldest son, Prince Hakeem, while staying at the family's Beverly
Hills Hotel, went on a shopping trip with the Manoukians at the
local Rolls-Royce dealership, Gregg Motors. Overlooking that he was
15 and lacked a driver's license, the dealer was more than happy to
indulge the Prince and assist with his first car purchase - for two
Bentley Turbo Rs. But there was a catch: The young Prince
considered the four-door sedan old-fashioned, and wanted a two-door
coupe instead. Bentley did not produce such a car at the time, but
that was nothing a few hundred thousand additional Pounds couldn't
fix. A deal was made for a white Turbo R, now known to be RBK25450,
and a dark blue one. Hakeem reportedly told his bodyguard, "the
blue one is for my dad, and I'll keep the white one." That could
have easily been the end of the story; however, it turned out to be
only the beginning. Thanks to the efforts of historians Phil Neff
and Chris Summers, the extraordinary story of this Turbo R, chassis
RBK25450, has been uncovered. It's been discovered that Gregg
Motors did not deliver the same cars Prince Hakeem selected that
day. Instead, an order came through to the factory in the name of
Tom Speigel - a friend of Gregg Motors' owner - for a standard
Turbo R Saloon in USA specification finished in Acrylic white over
tan trim. Rolls-Royce production records indicate the car left
Crewe, and instead of going to L.A., it and the dark blue one made
a side trip to Hooper & Co. Coachbuilders Ltd, in London for
conversion to two-door coupes as directed by Prince Hakeem. At
Hooper, Prince Hakeem's white Turbo R was painstakingly converted
to two-door saloon specs, becoming the first of literally hundreds
of Bentley "Brunei Specials." Hooper build sheets in the name of
Rafi Manoukian detail the transformation, which included the base
2-door conversion, a limousine-style rear window, 'NASA'-style
(sic) air ducts on the bonnet, sliding glass sunroof, Hooper front
spoiler, unique badging, and so much more. That extended to the
interior, completely reworked with new Hooper-style front seats and
centre console, customer veneered woodwork, and veneered lower map
pockets. Connolly supplied the leather for client approval prior to
fitting, and Hooper's craftspeople covered virtually every surface
in red hides, leaving no exposed fasteners and color-keying all
interior plastics to match. Wilton carpets were also approved by
the client, and even the mouton overmats were dyed red to match.
Other details included folding picnic tables in the seatbacks (with
veneers approved by the client), rear storage cubbies, and a
bespoke audio system with dual Alpine CD and stereo/cassette
players and fully uprated speakers - a necessary fitment for a
young playboy prince. Upon completion, X25450 was delivered to
Beverly Hills and stored at the Manoukian's residence. Prince
Hakeem allegedly used his Bentley just once to drive to the beach
at Santa Monica and back, then garaged it at the Bolkiah residence
behind the Beverly Hills Hotel. There it remained for years, under
the care of the Royal Family's attendant Steve Hui. In the late
1990s, just as Prince Jefri's world began to unravel in a swirl of
astonishing allegations, Hakeem's white Turbo R got an updated
title, presumably in an attempt to protect the asset. Hearing of
the car through local channels, noted marque collector Chuck
Swimmer was able to purchase it in 2000, and listed it with the
Rolls-Royce Owner's Club in 2001. In 2004, it was sold to Robert
and Arlene Connolly of Pompano Beach, FL, before coming into its
most recent owner's care in 2009. Following a comprehensive
service, the most recent owner has enjoyed the Bentley in club
events and shows. It currently shows fewer than 10,000 miles and
remains exceptionally original, with no modifications to its
original spec and offered in superbly well-preserved condition
inside and out. It is ready to enjoy and is sure to invoke a few
double-takes at RROC meets and would also be a superb entry into
Radwood or similar 80s-90s motoring events. Beyond its unique
story, chassis RBK25450 is tremendously significant. It is believed
to be one of only a handful of Hooper Turbo R conversions and is
the best-preserved, most original surviving example extant. While
countless other vehicles were left to rot in the harsh environment
of Brunei when Prince Jefri's world collapsed, this lone car
survived unscathed. But perhaps more notable is the importance of
this car to the very survival of Rolls-Royce and Bentley. In the
late 1980s, Rolls-Royce struggled under Vickers' conservative
ownership and lacked funding for new model development. This very
Turbo R became the catalyst for their long and lucrative
relationship with the Brunei Royal Family. The family's "cost no
object" mentality allowed Rolls-Royce to charge them for all
aspects of new model development, and many features later appeared
in series production Bentley and Rolls-Royce models. The Bolkiah
family purchased hundreds of bespoke models - including a fleet of
Brunei-exclusive Bentley Dominator SUVs at $3M each plus
engineering costs. Their wealth sustained the storied marques into
the 1990s, making Volkswagen's acquisition and subsequent
spin...for more information please contact the seller.
