Our attention has been drawn to the impressive high-resolution, extensitve variety of a set of photos that have recently revealed, purportedly from the Brunei Royal Family (BRF) car collection dating back to 2001. Many models are being revealed for the first time. This is a great opportunity to learn about one of the largest and most mysterious car collections on the planet, as our theme 140 is a notable presence within it.
These albums contain a wide variety of Mercedes and AMG cars, and many others. It’s not absolute complete, but so far the most complete photo sets we have seen. Which we will browse it in terms of uniqueness, originality, etc and list the highlights in this article. Please note that since many AMG cars were built completely independently of Mercedes, they should be considered different manufacturers. We will discuss these cars by model year or at least VIN serial number, as we have done in the past. Due to the large number of AMGs and the lack of accurate information on that aspect, this post is included as am “investigation” rather than “history”. Given that uncertainty, all figures on time and production are for reference only.
Looking at the BRF car collection shows that Mercedes’ association with the BRF was somewhat short-lived, with cars mainly from the 90s. This is probably more due to the time when the collection established and discontinued. In general, the 140’s predecessor, the 126, is rare in the collection. The Mercedes’ part mainly starts with the 129 and then the 140, and few other models. As a royal family, the BRF prefers large cars over medium and compact cars, which makes the 140 a mainstream part of the Mercedes collection, and more unique as it goes on.
1991
600 SEL
At the beginning of the launch of the 140, the BRF did not order a lot of special cars, only 21 new S-Klasse were delivered to Brunei throughout 1991, ranging all models from 300 SEL to 600 SEL. Some of them are special, some are not. The main special point is that they have the lower trim color matching the body. The example below is a Nautical Blue 600 SEL ordered in 1991, which is in single tone.
The earliest delivery is in October 1991, has been more than half a year since the world premiere. Looks like the BRF isn’t getting too special privileges just yet. The registration plate can be seen as a reference to the year of registration. For example, BL usually refers to cars delivered in 1991 and 1992, and BK refers to earlier cars. They are not absolute, some earlier cars could be registered to later number blocks, but you will find that the majority of earlier 140s are registered to BL.
1992
600 SEL
The 1991 orders are quite colorful. But as more cars were ordered in 1992, quite a few were used for BRF’s commuting rather than as true collector’s items. They were mostly black. Below is one of the 90 black 600 SELs ordered in 1992, their specifications are almost identical. Features include ADS, 4 seats, rear A/C, and BOSE sound system. But many of the Brunei cars in the photos are missing the original Becker head unit and CD changer, which may have been complained about by the royal family.
Other colors were still ordered. All 198 orders for 1992 had no special production instructions. Other than the lower paint, which seemed to be modified by BRF itself’s facility, all cars are completely stock. The BRF collection also features cars ordered from other countries, this Malachite Green 600 SEL below retains the original two-tone color is a UK order.
The BRF was also quite generous in allowing neighboring countries to use their cars for events. Once again, these Brunei royal cars are easily identifiable by their single tone paint, which makes them quite conspicuous when they are borrowed by other countries. These plates starting with KF are not necessarily linked to the year of registration, they are a separate number segment.
1993–1994
600 SEC
In 1993, the number of S-Klasse delivered to Brunei dropped significantly, they ordered almost no sedans but a large number of new coupés. Only 600 SEC made it into their list, and again as regular royal commuter cars, 68 of 74 were built in black. Their options list is nearly identical to the sedan’s, and unsurprisingly their lower trims are also finished in gloss black.
Another S 600 Coupé in this album below being first delivered to the UK. Apparently due to its affiliation with the BRF, it also gets a single colour scheme.
AMG started to join in from mid 1993. Mercedes could not handle the large number of special requests, and AMG and Mercedes had been cooperating in marketing since 1991. AMG also started to provide higher performance engines for S-Klasse since June 1993, so AMG became the supplier of special orders for the BRF. Although Mercedes also marketed some AMG parts at this time, BRF’s AMG cars work like AMG Japan’s way. BRF order regular black cars as embryos and then sent them to AMG for complete conversion.
AMG S 600 6.0 Coupé
The Traffoc Yellow example below is the earliest 140 that AMG built for the BRF. In terms of appearance it has AMG kit and 18 inch wheels, as well as a thorough yellow paint job. Not only are the center piece of wheels yellow, but even the wipers are yellow. From 1993 to 1994, the BRF ordered many yellow cars.
The interior is wrapped entirely in red leather, different materials from the factory, with yellow stitching to match the paint. Some remaining black elements tell that its interior was originally black. Options offered by AMG outside the Mercedes price list include a sportier steering wheel and additional wood trim. It also comes with AMG’s just-launched 324 kW/440 PS high-performance engine, sports suspension and exhaust.
Other orders worth mentioning include three S 600 Sonderschutz, but they are not included in this album. The BRF only ordered nine V12 sedans in 1993, with three being Sonderschutzs, the rest were sent to AMG as embryos for conversion. In 1993 BRF converted 6 sedans and 4 coupés at AMG, some of these are completed in 1994. Plates starting with BM usually belong to a series of cars registered in 1992 and 1993.
AMG S 600 6.0
In 1994 AMG completed a series of projects that began in late 1993. The purple 600 SEL below is one of them. In the color scheme requested by the BRF, a color shall cover the body as thoroughly as possible, so even some some chrome parts were painted.
This car is different from the coupé above in that its paint was done at the Mercedes Sindelfingen factory. If Mercedes could provide the paint that BRF wanted, they would do their part and then give the rest to AMG. These cars were completed at AMG much later than Mercedes released them, so these MY1993 cars were all converted by AMG in MY1994 specification.
S 600
In March 1994, the S-Klasse received a facelift and a higher quality interior. The Brunei Royal Family ordered some new black V12’s for use as royal commuter cars. They still have ADS, 4 seats, rear air conditioning, BOSE stereo. Also has gloss black lower parts. Of the 41 S 600s, some are stored as AMG embryos.
Because the AMG side of things has not kept up with the times, since Mercedes has decided not to market the AMG S-Klasse anymore, AMG development is further behind. It will be a while before there is a complete new product, and BRF has the right to know when that is in advance.
S 600 Coupé
Similar new V12 coupés continue to arrive, 56 black S 600 Coupés were ordered in 1994. As happened in the following decades, the cars were not put into service immediately, but instead lay in storage facilities, where they await being AMG embryos in the future.
In this year BRF also ordered 10 S 600 Sonderschutz, but they had to wait until Feburary 1995 for delivery. 1994 was pretty calm, Mercedes offered some ordinary cars, AMG hadn’t made anything new yet, they were preparing for the next year. Note that license plates starting with BN, BP (there wasn’t BO) are not necessarily related to the year. They first appeared on cars from 1992-1993, but have appeared in almost all years since then.
1995–1996
AMG S 600 7.2 – 555 Edition
When AMG started offering the new body kit corresponding to the facelift design and the more powerful M120 E72 engine in the late 1994, the BRF started sending some of the earlier ordered 1994 black cars to AMG for upgrades and modifications. For this series the M120 E72 exclusively supplied to the Brunei Royal Family has 555 PS output, 30 PS more than the regular version, it is called the 7.2-555 Edition. The one below is in Imperial Red. Now it has the new AMG body kit and 19 inch wheels.
Another example in Traffoc Yellow. On the left side of the trunk, the conventional AMG badge now has a BRUNEI in place of the AMG, while the right side has a 555 badge indicade it has 555 PS.
The interior is finished in the same color scheme as the previous yellow cars. AMG steering wheel, new V12 seats and door panels with extra wood trim. The door sills also have branding exclusivelly made for BRF.
There are 6 black sedans converted to 7.2-555 Edition.
AMG S 600 7.2 – 555 Edition Coupé
Compared to the E-Klasse cabriolet and Estate that AMG already offered to the public, the BRF favored the larger S-Klasse. Therefore, the new package included conventional coupé and the new cabriolet.
This Imperial Red example got new wood finish similar to Birdseye Maple, which was offered earlier than Mercedes. Still, its remaining black components tell that it once had a black interior. There are buttons for seat heating on the wood console, which shouldn’t appear on these Brunei’s cars. The center console button position of RHD cars can be used to distinguish model years.
For MY1993 and before, the top center console buttons of RHD cars were conveniently located on the right side. Starting from MY1994, the center console buttons of RHD cars were moved to the left side like LHD cars, which is one of the omissions of MY1994.
AMG S 600 7.2 – 555 Edition Cabriolet
AMG invited some other cooperators to modify the body to make a convertible. Information suggests their bodies were made at SGS Styling Garage in Rellingen, which specializes in convertible conversions. This work was done completely independently of Mercedes-Benz. First, a black example.
Its interior has been re-upholstered, with purple piping on the seat contours replacing the original double stitching. The wood trim is green, but the dashboard has no purple stitching. The console not only has buttons for seat heating on the wood console, but also a blank hole betwwen the windshield heating and activated carbon filter. On MY1993 cars this is the rear headrest folding. Since the MY1994 cars removed the stereo adjustment button, the rear headrest folding was moved to the original stereo adjustment position at the bottom of the center console. From MY1994 this position is for tow-away protection switch, which these Brunei coupé don’t have. Not to mention the soft top can’t fit it. So they used different wood consles for conversion.
Purple example. Anyway, its convertible top remains black.
It has purple leather similar to the Picasso’s interior hue, more purple piping on the seats, and black wood trim. Still, incorrect wood console with seat heating. The entire batch of these cars has such problem. This happens when AMG prepares parts in advance to save time, the parts prepared in advance do not match the specs of the actual vehicle.
Emerald Green example.
Rolls Royce Silver.
Traffic Yellow.
24 of 56 black coupés ordered in previous year were sent to AMG to covert the 555 PS coupé and cabriolet.
AMG S 600 7.2 – 555 Edition Estate
The Estate was built after the tailgate of the S 210 wagon became available. They are the last part of the 7.2-555 series, total of 10 such examples were created in various colors.
The styling of these cars was partly inspired by the new E-Klasse wagon, which required a brand new tail and rear bumper. The exhaust pipe had to be routed to the right. On this Imperial Red example, the rear wiper blade is also red.
The red interior is the same style as other red cars. And that extra switch for the heated seats. But this time it has a reason, because the switch has been replaced by the rear wiper. These sedans that were used to make the estate did come with tow-away protection, so these wood consoles were perfect for them. So the cabriolet just borrowed the exact same wood trims from estate version.
More trunk details. It looks like it has a third row of folding seats, which is probably why the exhaust pipes are routed around to the right side.
The M120 E72 engine is based on 120.980 and has a carbon fiber cover on top of the engine wiring harness. The red wiper arms are very eye-catching.
By this time 28 of them had been built for BRF. Here it is described as 7.2 -555 Edition, although these M120 E72s should also be 7055 cc.
Apart from placing an order for 10 S 600 Sonderschutz, BRF placed almost no new S-Klasse orders at Mercedes in 1995, with the main work being done by AMG on the previous year’s car.
1996-1997
AMG S 600 7.2 – 555 Edition Sonderschutz
AMG’s first BRF task was to install a more powerful engine in the new delivered 15 S 600 Sonderschutz ordered in 1995 and 1996. The extra weight of the Sonderschutz was now balanced by 555 PS, an extra 160 PS. The speedometer still shows a modest 240 km/h.
Since the Sonderschutz body did not match the AMG body kit, only the engine and exhaust were installed.
AMG S 600 7.2 – 555 Edition Coupé Sonderschutz
BRF also needed coupé of the same specifications, but Mercedes did not offer them. Therefore AMG converted 20 S 600 Coupés for BRF in an armored version, with the body made by AMG’s partner. Externally they can be recognized by the CTS wheels.
It has a fixed B-pillar, so the rear quarter windows can’t be raised or lowered. There are some inaccuracies in the album, this interior photo seems to belong to a British-spec car, it has an MPH speedometer, and real seat heating. We were reminded by a friend that such armored coupé also ordered in the UK by BRF.
AMG S 600 7.3 – 565 Edition Coupé 50th Anniversary
A truly special series, 2 of these coupé were converted by AMG as a tribute to the 50th birthday of Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah in 1996. This series used the 120.982 engine in a special M120 E73, which was called the 7.3 – 565 Edition and had 565 PS. That’s 40 PS more than the regular M120 E73. They were first ordered at Mercedes in similar target colors, and then the exterior colors were repainted by AMG. For example, this red example was originally Ruby Red instead of the past black. Its exterior was given a fair degree of SL elements, with special bumpers and mirrors. This edition has chrome wheels.
The center console tunnel is 129-style, including a larger carbon fiber trim and new armrests. The ashtray has a note commemorating the 50th birthday of the Sultan of Brunei. Compared with previous versions, the new steering wheel is very conservative. The seat pattern is exclusive to this version.
In addition to the Sonderschutzs, once the MY1997 production started 10 black S 600s and 16 CL 600s were ordered as embryonic reserves. The 50th Anniversary edition developed further, extra 8 were created, bringing the total to 10. Mercedes Designo provided these MY1997 cars with factory-done special paint, then they were shipped to AMG for the conversion. They have updated bumpers fitted with Parktronic, which has been standard on coupé since MY1997. Such a body kit is not marketed by Mercedes. Since MY1997, the AMG body kit for coupés has disappeared from the Mercedes price list. The example below is painted in Ferrari Red, this series also has chrome wheels.
Similar to the previous year, the 129-style carbon fiber center console, new AMG steering wheel have also been given carbon fiber. There are also updated door panels, but the seats have been recovered to factory style.
By the time the car was finished, 1996 was almost over.
For MY1997 cars, only the wiper arms are painted now, the wiper blades remains black.
Nine of these 7.3 – 565 Editions have now been produced now.
This one, painted MICA Green. When it left the Mercedes factory it was already February 1997, and there were AMG jobs waiting then… but it’s still a 50th Anniversary Edition.
Of the 10 50th Anniversary Editions, 2 were developed from regular black embryos, one of which is shown below. It left Sindelfingen in April 1997, but is still the car that celebrated 1996.
In a series of changes that have occurred over the long development of this series, the carbon fiber of the previous AMG steering wheel has disappeared on this car.
Redesigned rear seats and armrests. This series design may come from WENDLER.
AMG S 600 7.3 – 565 Edition Estate
The last project in the album is the MY1997 Estate. This project is a further development of the 1995 model, now it gets the coupé front and 565 PS M120 E73 engine. Besides the standard coupé parts and the bumper from the previous BRF AMG coupé, it has the front fenders from the sedan but specially made. These new estates are developed from black S 600 embryos.
This red example has red carbon fiber interior, as well as buttons for seat heating.
Traffoc Yellow. Likewise, the wiper blades are not painted.
Emerald Green
Green MICA
Black
These were the last batch they bought before the sedan was discontinued in late 1998. There are 7 of them in the BRF garage list, but 10 were produced. After June 1997, BRF almost stopped ordering S-Classes from Mercedes, and no more stock embryos were sent to AMG for conversion. BRF only got one last coupé sample from AMG in late 1998, which had the front face of the successor, and then it was over. That car does not appear in the inventory of the BRF garage, nor in this album. It may have been delivered elsewhere along with the other three 7.3 – 555 Estates. Here ends our review over this album.
AMG, as BRF’s contractor for customizing Mercedes, brings together the wisdom of all parts of Germany to meet BRF’s most exclusive needs. BRF usually customizes models in batches according to time, with a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 20. The neat arrangement of orders makes it possible to track them, which is the basis for the numbers obtained in this research. This photo album is relatively complete, including samples of almost every model that BRF and AMG have made from 1993 to 1997. Except that it misses the 6 AMG coupés from early 1995 and exterior photo of the 14 1997 CL 600 Sonderschutz, maybe we will have a chance to see it in the future. Great thanks to who uploaded these albums.
All investigations are based on limited information, please email me if you have doubts about the veracity of this article. If you want to quote the content of this article, please contact me in advance, please do not use my text for any commercial purposes.