Up until the late-twentieth century, a majority of middle-eastern countries' markets were built upon basic trade, such as: food, raw metals, etc. However, ever since a huge amounts of fossil fuels were discovered just beneath them, a lot of these once lower-income provinces became oasis's in the sand.
With the increase in demand, power, and salable goods, money has flown into these countries like an opened dam, particularly in Dubai's case, as well as the rest of the United Arab Emirates, in general. One man to reap some serious rewards from this change is none other than Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan of Dubai.
Being a man of class, the Sheikh has spent his wealth on the most important area: cars, a lot of cars. Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan is what every car enthusiast would do if they had all the money in the world, and we love him for it! So, let's take an in-depth look at the Rainbow Sheikh's priceless car collection...
The 'Rainbow Sheikh'
The Sheikh's full name may be 'Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan,' but, to millions, he's more simply known as the 'Rainbow Sheikh.' Given his affinity for a variety of colors, "rainbow" seems like the perfect moniker.
In fact, that title is far more than just a name, but a lifestyle, too. Apparently, when the Sheikh was about to get married, he ordered a rainbow of classic Mercedes-Benz for the event. Mercedes proceeded to shut down production to focus on only his vehicle, which tells you how much clout this guy has!
Ever since then (and a little before, even), the Rainbow Sheikh has stayed true to his name! If you ever visit his museum, you'll be inundated with a ton of cars tricked out with rainbow decals, interior, seats, and much more. We're not so sure we'd choose such a vibrant color pallet, but to each is their own!
Imagine It And It's There
When you have as many cars as the Rainbow Sheikh has, a normal garage just won't suffice. "What's the next best thing?" you may be asking. Well, apparently the Sheikh thought a literal pyramid would do the trick. Yep, you read that correctly: a gigantic pyramid housing Dubai's greatest car collection.
Listing all the vehicles inside Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan's garage/museum would be an incredibly time consuming task. As such, we'll stick to the notable mentions: like a antique Dodge Power Wagon (and it's big brother), Mercedes-Benz 300SL, AMG Hammer, Citroën DS, a N.Y.P.D. police car, and hundreds more.
Unlike what you may expect from a normal billionaire's garage, the Rainbow Sheikh has more 'normal cars' than multi-million dollar supercars. That being said, he still has a few of those, too.
A Far Cry From 'Normal' Cars
Sure, all of the multi-million dollar supercars and hypercars are awesome, but, at a certain point, you may want more than what a car manufacturer can provide. So, naturally, the next choice is to make your own custom-built cars. This is something that Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan is intimately familiar with.
Among the normal cars in the Sheikh's collection is a litany of mind-blowing customs; ranging from compact rovers to gigantic trucks! A popular examples are the rolling globe and the Sheikh's Dodge Power Wagon. No, not the normal-sized one we mentioned before, but the huge one that's at least 5X as big.
At only a cursory glance, you can tell how much the Sheikh loves big vehicles. Whether they be custom-built or lifted from the factory, there will be no shortage of great off-roaders/apocalypse cars.