The most bizarre car collections in the world

Car collections attract a lot of buzz, especially those owned by celebrities, which can often include the most outlandishly expensive rides in the world.

But like everything in life, some collections go under the radar; collections which are, well, a bit odd, strange, and even a bit WTF?!

Let’s take a deep drive (pun intended) into some of these weird (and sometimes wonderful) car collections.

Perhaps taking the icing on the odd car collection cake is a host of vehicles located in a museum in the small industrial city of Graz, Austria (because, of course).

The collection has been assembled by automotive supplier Magna-Steyr, a series of firms that can trace its roots to the Austrian inventor Johann Puch, who posthumously lent his name to the car museum.

So, what makes this collection so weird?

Well, for starters, with over 2,500 exhibits and 600 different vehicles on display – from vintage cars to sport utility vehicles – it houses all sorts of vehicles in a variety of conditions.

From an Audi Allroad with failed suspension, a delivery-mileage Chrysler Voyager, a green Pontiac Aztek, a high-riding Volkswagen Golf Country, a bunch of bicycles (such as the Monza and M50), and virtually every conceivable iteration of the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen (aka G-Class).

Another more ‘out there’ factor? Well, unlike most car museums, this one isn’t one to prioritise aesthetics, with many of the vehicles covered in dust and their condition questionable, from deflated tyres to collapsed suspension.

The displays aren’t always labelled, and if they are, there’s no counting on them being accurate, but is still worth a visit if you are a car enthusiast. You won’t see many collections like this.

High-profile (and billionaire) member of the United Arab Emirates royal family, Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan al Nahyan owns a car collection that doubles as the country’s car museum, and it is… unexpected.

It includes the world’s largest SUV: an Oshkosh M1075 an all-terrain 10-wheeler usually deployed by the US Army on its lower half and on top, a Jeep Wrangler.

Out the front is a mammoth replica of a Land Rover Series 3 as well as a Mercedes-Benz W116 turned into a monster truck.

Inside the museum is another replica, this time of a Willys Jeep complete with a shovel and axe mounted on the driver’s side of the body.

While drivable, it rarely moves and at 21ft tall, it's four times bigger than an actual Willys. It’s also been certified by Guinness World Records as the largest Jeep replica in the world.

The collection also includes a 1983 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC with modifications including widened wheel arches, custom bumpers on both ends, and the installation of gullwing doors.

There’s also a Mercedes-Benz 600 limousine whose previous owners include David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Coco Chanel, Mao Zedong, and Saddam Hussein.

Perhaps my favourite though, is the collection of seven Mercedes-Benz W126s, each painted in a different colour of the rainbow, that the Sheikh ordered for his wedding.

Finally, in another oil-rich state lives another very wealthy man, with another very outlandish car collection, the Sultan of Brunei.

While the Sultan’s government pays for its citizen’s education, healthcare, and living expenses, he also managed to personally accumulate a lot of cars over the years. The estimate is 7,000 vehicles.

Worth more than $5 billion, the collection is said to include around half of the Rolls-Royce and Bentleys ever sold in the early-mid-1990s.

The Sultan has also commissioned a range of cars over the years including six Bentley Dominators, a 1996 Bentley Buccaneer, Camelot, Phoenix, Imperial, Rapier, Pegasus, Silverstone, and Spectre; all bespoke, confidential commissions.

Bentleys aside, the Sultan owns over 600 Rolls Royces, including custom varieties such as the Rolls-Royce Royale, Majestic and Cloudesque – big and super extravagant limos – as well as commissioned Ferraris, Aston Martins, and a McLaren F1.

While the cars ordered and owned by the Sultan of Brunei might not share the WTF factor of The Sheikh’s, the sheer amount of cars (and their value) is absolutely bonkers!

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