In the early 1990s, Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, placed one of the most unusual custom orders in automotive history. He is said to have commissioned Mercedes-Benz to build seven W126 Sa-Class sedans, each painted in a different color of the rainbow, with a completely color-coordinated interior down to the carpets, dashboards and air vents. The request came with a tight deadline and an extraordinary level of customization. Multiple reports claim that in order to deliver the cars on time, Mercedes temporarily halted other production at one of its factories and devoted personnel and resources exclusively to the sheikh’s commission. Although Mercedes has never publicly confirmed the shutdown, the story has been going on for decades and has earned Hamad a nickname that has stuck around the world: the ‘Rainbow Sheik’.
A scale collector, not supercars
Sheikh Hamad is the son of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan and a descendant of the family that has ruled Abu Dhabi for more than three centuries. Much of his wealth can be traced to the family’s control of the emirate’s oil reserves, which account for around 95 percent of the UAE’s oil, according to figures cited. Through Net Worth of Celebrities.Despite that wealth, his collection defies the conventions of billionaires. He owns a vast, eclectic collection of more than 3,000 vehicles, which according to Road & Track includes no modern hypercars or supercars, no Bugattis or Ferraris, aside from a first-generation Porsche Boxster.
He had Mercedes completely personalize seven S-Class cars, each in rainbow colors with an interior that matched the exterior.
The extravagant order earned him the nickname “Rainbow Sheikh,” a title that has stuck for decades
Instead, it favors the unique, the oversized and the historically curious, with many vehicles adapted to eccentric extremes. His vehicles include:
- The world’s largest Hummer H1, over 6 meters high, fully drivable and equipped with stairs, a kitchen, a bathroom and guest space spread over two floors.
- A Mercedes W128 mounted on monster truck wheels.
- Dhabiyan: A huge 10-wheel monster truck based on an Oshkosh M1075 military truck, with a 15.2 liter Caterpillar engine.
- Oversized vehicles: a replica of a Dodge Power Wagon (eight times larger than the original) with a house-like structure, and a ten times larger replica of a Jeep.
- Different vintage
Mini Coopers replicas of the 1885 Benz Patent Motorwagen and classic American Buicks, Chevrolets and Cadillacs. - The ‘Mercedes Big Foot’, an extremely customized camper, in the shape of a gigantic globe, built one millionth the size of the Earth.
Its largest vehicle is a fully drivable Hummer H1, over six meters tall and two stories high./Image: ThrottleStop
The Emirates National Auto Museum also houses Dhabiyan, a 10-wheel monster truck based on an Oshkosh M1075 military vehicle / Emirates National Auto Museum
His thirst for scale has earned him formal recognition. Guinness World Records lists him as having the largest collection of 4×4 vehicles in the world, numbering 718.
He holds a world record for 718 4×4 vehicles, mostly on display at the Emirates National Auto Museum and Sharjah Off-Road Museum.
Museums, islands and the legacy of excess
Much of the Rainbow Sheikh’s collection is housed in the Emirates National Auto Museum, the pyramid-shaped museum in Al Dhafra that contains more than 200 vehicles. The seven rainbow-colored Mercedes S-Class cars are displayed together there, next to off-road giants and customized one-offs. He also built a second museum in Sharjah, specifically dedicated to off-road vehicles and experimental designs created under his leadership.
Much of his collection is housed in the pyramid-shaped Emirates National Auto Museum in Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi/Emirates National Auto Museum
His taste for spectacle extends beyond just cars. In 2011, workers carved his name into the sand of Al Futaisi Island, a largely uninhabited island near Abu Dhabi, creating waterways visible from the air. In addition to the extravagance, several reports mention his philanthropy, especially in healthcare, where he funded a complete kidney stone operating room for a public hospital in Morocco and continues to support the staff. Three decades later, the rainbow Mercedes order remains the defining story of Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan al Nahyan’s automotive legend: not because of speed or rarity, but because the demand for customization was so extreme that, if the numbers are correct, one of the world’s largest automakers stopped everything else to keep up.
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