Filed under: Concept Cars, Euro, Supercars, Ferrari
The Sultan's secret 1995 Ferrari FX
Richard Owen of Supercars.net recently visited the Marconi Museum in Tustin, California and discovered one of its hidden gems, a Sultan of Brunei custom Ferrari FX. Richard explains the history of this technological tour de force and gives us some insight into the bizarre story of the Sultan and his massive collection of one-offs, custom-builts, exotics and supercars that numbered in the thousands. The whole collection was estimated to have cost some $28 billion. This particular jewel started life as a Ferrari 512M but was so extensively modified that the new FX nomenclature was used. And being the Sultan, this is just number four of seven nearly identical models he had commissioned. Pininfarina redesigned the body and the Williams F1 crew was tabbed to do some mechanical tweaking.
The cars started life at Pininfarina where the new aluminum and carbon fiber bodies were mated to a 512M platform. The Sultan's brother, Prince Jefri, then took the car to Williams where it was fitted with a sequential gearbox similar to their Formula 1 unit. But this car never finished the cycle. The Sultan's buying days had come to an abrupt halt while the car was still at Williams and that's where Dick Marconi came in. The sole dark blue FX in the bunch, it was purchased by Herbalife founder, ex-boxer and sometime racer, Dick Marconi, for his Southern California museum. And there it sits for anyone to see. Check out supercars.net for more photos and details. And if you're ever in Southern California, make sure you stop by the Marconi Museum. All Museum donations go to support the Marconi Foundation for Kids, which provides funds to at risk youth.
[Source: Supercars.net]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
HughJazz 1:40PM (10/10/2006)
Wow, a Saturnarri... how f------ ugly.
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dna 1:42PM (10/10/2006)
I respect the man with the vision and fortitude to turn an exceptional Italian supercar into a Pontiac Sunfire.
For a mere $400,000, I can get him a deal on a low-mileage 2003 with optional 15" alloys and 6 CD changer.
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Vinny 1:43PM (10/10/2006)
Good work. He took a Ferrari and turned it into a Trans Am.
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Freddy 1:45PM (10/10/2006)
Nice Sunfire.
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CJ 1:55PM (10/10/2006)
That's gotta be the most expensive Saturn on the planet!
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Steve 1:56PM (10/10/2006)
Man, it's nice to be the Sultan, huh?
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fizzandpop 2:14PM (10/10/2006)
And to think, hundreds of people spent litterally tens of dollars trying to make their Firebirds look like a Testarossas, then this guy spends millions trying to achieve the reverse. Genius. There is balance in the universe.
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SherbornSean 2:14PM (10/10/2006)
DNA,
Great post -- you made my day!
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Stoneman 2:22PM (10/10/2006)
I'm going to go for hell for this, but I agree with #4, it absolutely looks like a Pontiac sunfire.
blecch.
Stoneman
http://www.stonemanautoreview.com
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Vetmstr 2:46PM (10/10/2006)
I agree with all of the above. WOW first thing I thought when I saw it was Saturn.
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rwdmtparkingonly 3:08PM (10/10/2006)
Money can't buy taste. They put more of his cars on the French autoblog, I actually like the Ferrari wagon:
http://www.leblogauto.com/2005/08/lincroyable_col.html
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Vanya 3:21PM (10/10/2006)
I'd like one for Christmas!
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28 Billion??? 3:30PM (10/10/2006)
What I'm trying to figure out is how anyone could own $28 billion worth of cars. The original article merely states the sultan had a "$28 billion spending spree."
At $1 million per car it adds up to 1000 cars per billion, or 28,000 one million dollar cars. Did autoblogjalopnik check this claim from another source?
I guess anyone with a budget anywhere near that amount would end up creating million dollar custom Saturns, Camaros, Firebirds, Sunfires, and YUGOs!
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Nicholas 3:35PM (10/10/2006)
Seriously. $28 Billion has got to be a b.s. number. That is craploads of money for anyone on this planet, let alone for one person to spend on his private supercar collection.
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review cars 3:55PM (10/10/2006)
I like to be an sultan with such cars
http://www.auto-power-girl.com/
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Cody Peterson 3:58PM (10/10/2006)
This auto museum is like 4 miles away from my apartment... how come I did not know this... I guess you have to make an appointment to go in it though, just wonder if there is a cost also involved (I known its non-profit).. I guess I'll have to check it out
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TrueDis 4:51PM (10/10/2006)
Cody - feel the same way, I work 1/4 mi from here and had no idea it existed. Just drove by it when I was out at lunch today, it's really hidden back there.
The $28bn thing must be a typo... Maybe $28mil, but that's still a lot.
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Sue Esponte 5:07PM (10/10/2006)
I think I remember reading that the Sultan commissioned Ferrari to build a wagon (estate, if you will) based on a 355 some time ago. Its nice to be the king...errr sultan...but who would have ever imagined Ferrari agreeing to put a Saturn body kit on one of its cars? I guess times were really tough for Ferrari back in '95!
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anahit 5:10PM (10/10/2006)
That's a real looker, Herbalife dude. Granted the car's not about the inside but it's one of the grossest interiors I've ever seen.
I lost my automotive mind!
Ask me how!
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Aki 5:29PM (10/10/2006)
What I don't understand is that Pininfarina was involved in the design. How could they let such a dreck be designed?
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