When it comes to the garages of the richest people in the world, perhaps none fascinate like that of the Sultan of Brunei. Reported to contain anywhere between 3,000 and 7,000 cars at its peak—and an obscene number of 1980s and 90s dream cars like 11 Ferrari F40s and 10 McLaren F1s—the collection’s true contents and current condition are a source of endless speculation. What little we know about it comes from photos and secondhand accounts—and the small number of cars to have escaped the Sultan’s grasp, like this one-off 1986 Lamborghini LM002 SUV that will be publicly auctioned for the very first time on SBX Cars in August.
Built from 1986 to 1993 with a military-derived chassis and the 5.2L V12 from the Countach, the LM002 is often called Lamborghini’s first sport utility vehicle, especially around Urus owners. But really, it’s a pickup with an open bed. That wasn’t gonna work for Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who hired coachbuilder Salvatore Diomante to convert his LM002 to a closed wagon body style with a raised roof, creating the real first Lambo SUV. It’s said that three were built in total, but nobody knows where the other two are today, so it’s safe to say you’d be the only one rolling up to Cars & Coffee in this. Also, the listing claims this is the only conversion officially sanctioned by Lamborghini. Provenance matters, right?
There’s some stiff competition, but I don’t think any vehicle more embodies the 1980s more than the LM002. It’s just pure irrational excess. There was no other point in time where a canceled military concept truck from a real automaker could be reborn as a luxury plaything with a leather and wood-lined interior, a supercar V12, a stick shift, and a claimed 130-mph top speed. Its 444 horsepower put it in the top 5 most powerful production cars of the decade. It weighs over 6,700 pounds.
This one is even heavier thanks to the SUV conversion, but the tradeoff is a far more spacious and livable interior. The second row gained a fancy center console with a TV, VCR, and a DVD player that was added later. Fancy. The cargo area is fitted with a U-shaped bench and some really cheap-looking speakers . The listing notes some cracks on the leather seats, but it’s otherwise in great shape. Likewise, the exterior has held up well, being repainted to the current Argento Metallizzato at some point and carrying a handful of minor scuffs and bubbles. It’s said to be in full driving condition and comes with an extensive service history, though it’s still on its original 345-width tires that cost thousands of dollars each to replace. A new set is supposedly included.
One of the most fascinating/depressing things about the Sultan’s car collection is its reported deterioration over the years. After a financial crisis in the late 1990s, the sultanate reportedly couldn’t afford to keep the massive fleet properly maintained, and since then stories of garages full of rotting Ferraris and Bugattis have sprung up. You can credit the LM002’s relatively good condition to the fact that the Sultan only drove it for a thousand miles before selling it to former BMW and Volkswagen CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder, who sold it to its current owner in 2009, “a Swedish woman who used it to drive her children to school.” That’s a normal thing to do.
The Sultan’s old SUV goes up for auction on August 7th.