The state of the Brunei Collection is an automotive tragedy
It's likely that these cars will never be seen by the public again, if they still exist at all
This past week, thousands of pictures taken back in 2001 featured the elusive Brunei Royal Family Collection in never-before-seen detail. The pictures come from a new Instagram account aptly named "brunei_cars_2001" with a bio that reads "Photos from the Brunei Royal Car Collection taken in 2001, say no to gatekeeping!!"
The source of the photos is still shrouded in mystery
It's unclear who the person behind these shots or the account is. The general understanding seems to be that a group of individuals held them until a recent disagreement led to one of the members making them public. Another story I found in a Facebook thread was that a former employee stole the photos from the business they belonged to several years ago. Over the last three years, they were made available to select enthusiasts until someone decided to publish them.
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A Google Drive folder with 1,357 photos was also shared alongside the leak. The photos show all of the cars from different angles and in better detail. A closer look at some of the photos' metadata shows they were all taken in December 2001 with a Canon PowerShot G1.
The leak is a source of bittersweet celebration
I digress. The automotive community is largely celebrating the news, and it's understandable. Regular people finally get to lay their eyes on cars that some of us didn't even know existed, especially the various coach-built examples specifically for the Brunei Royal Family.
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Therein lies the bigger tragedy. An automotive enthusiast takes pride in driving and enjoying their cars. They don't worry themselves about another digit on the odometer or whether the resale value is diminishing with each rev.
Seeing a collection like that of the Brunei Royal Family is a deeply saddening sight for someone who fits the above criteria. Holding such automotive works of art captive in a warehouse, never to be enjoyed again like they were meant to, shows a lack of care and compassion for both the brand they are associated with and their overall role in what makes our automotive hobby so great.
Special, bespoke cars are meant to showcase an automaker's bleeding-edge capabilities, celebrate an important milestone, or honor a noteworthy customer who has shown a deep infatuation and dedication to that company. These cars are love letters on wheels, the result of a designer channeling their passion and expertise into a four-wheeled masterpiece. Yet here they sit, forgotten and forlorn, denied the public admiration and appreciation they rightfully deserve. It's a crime and nothing short of disrespectful.
These cars will likely be lost to time due to their storage conditions
Even more heartbreaking is the high chance that many of these beauties are beyond restoration. The warehouses they were kept in were not humidity-controlled and Brunei has an extremely tropical climate. Even in these 2001 shots, many of the cars have layers of dust covering them and some are even starting to develop mold. Nature is not kind to manmade items lying stationary for 23 years and thinking about the condition of those cars today is sickening, to say the least.
As improbable as it seems, I cling to a faint hope that these cars will one day find their way to true enthusiasts so that they may once more experience the open road. I feel an indescribable sense of sadness from seeing this uncovered archive and knowing I am unable to help these cars escape their fate. It serves as yet another reminder that wealth can be a regrettable gift in the wrong hands.
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