25 Sickest Cars In The Rainbow Sheik's Car Collection

For those of you who don’t know who the so-called Rainbow Sheikh is, let me enlighten you. Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan is an extremely wealthy resident of Abu Dhabi. Those of you here who are heavy Mercedes fans will likely have already heard of this guy. Why? Because he is perhaps the greatest fan of Mercedes, and I’m sure that Mercedes is a big fan of him. His rainbow fleet of Mercedes S Classes is a pretty good reason for Mercedes to like the guy.

In addition to his massive collection of Mercedes cars, the aptly named Rainbow Sheikh has got many other rainbow-themed automobiles as well as a great number of awesome, random, interesting and gigantic vehicles. You would not expect a good number of these cars, for sure. One of the things Rainbow seems to love the most is to take an American truck and then scale it up to a gigantic size, for seemingly no other reason than that he can.

And backtracking to that fleet of rainbow Mercedes, the Sheikh has fitted several of them with gull-wing doors as well as a packed rifle rack in the back. This guy certainly is not boring by any means. In addition to all of this, he even has a Jawa-looking caravan with all the luxuries you could ever want and a car museum within a giant mobile globe, which I don’t really understand, but scroll down to take a look at 25 of the most exciting pieces in the Rainbow Sheikh’s collection.

25 – Giant Texaco Tanker

For those of you who don’t recognize the Texaco brand, my guess is that you are not American. For those of you who know Texaco but wonder why there is a classic Texaco truck in the Rainbow Sheikh’s collection…well, then you don’t know how this guy got his fortune in the first place.

The Rainbow Sheikh has been living off of the UAE’s oil money, essentially. That makes it even more interesting that he’s not the Oily Sheikh (but I guess that sounds a little negative).

Anyway, why should this Texaco truck be of any interest at all to you? Well, it may look seem from this photo that this is simply a regular-sized classic Texaco truck, but it’s not. Unfortunately, there’s nothing in the frame for size reference, but this truck is actually gigantic. This is just one of many incredibly upscaled vehicles that the Rainbow Sheikh has in his very eclectic collection. It’s like this truck stands in his collection as a testament to the power of the oil industry and as a monument to his success and wealth. When you think about it, he’s not wrong at all to do this. This is how he made it in the world and he’s doing very well for himself.

24 – Rainbow S Class

You might think that this is the car that gave Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan his nickname the Rainbow Sheikh, but you would be wrong. Yes, you’re right. This is indeed a rainbow car. But it is not quite the original reason for the nickname. That being said, it certainly does stand out when you compare it to the cars surrounding it. Everything in the direct vicinity of this rainbow Mercedes is plain-colored and rather boring.

I wonder if the Rainbow Sheikh has purposely placed rainbow cars throughout the regular car sections just to really pull focus to them and to make sure no one gets bored when looking at his over 400 vehicles.

Now, while this is one of the S Class Mercedes that the Rainbow Sheikh has, this is not actually a part of the seven-S-Class fleet that Al Nahayan has. This is most likely not a Mercedes that he actually commissioned from the motor company. That being said, I bet that Mercedes absolutely loves this guy because the amount of money he has spent on them and their cars is just mind-blowing. No, I don’t have exact numbers on the amount spent but he did order a fleet from the company and has more than just a few other Mercedes laying around the museum.

23 – Double Jeep Wrangler

I don’t even understand why someone would think of this. It is so incredibly impractical. True, it is more practical than any of the trucks that the Rainbow Sheikh has decided to upscale in some absurd manner, but come on. There’s no way this thing can be street legal. Just look at it driving on the road. It’s taking up a good chunk of the lane next to it. Unless it’s suddenly legal for this guy to start driving part of his Jeep on the sidewalk without regard for pedestrians, I can’t see how this is a car he can drive very often without getting stopped, because otherwise, he’ll end up smashing into several cars in the lane next to him without even trying!

In spite of all of this, I can’t help but feel that is a pretty cool idea, especially if you can move from one Jeep to the other while inside. The room to have a party in there, if you are able to move from seat to seat like a regular Jeep, is pretty staggering. Imagine having some bottles of champagne and a bunch of friends kicking back in there, as long as you can pull down the seats and roam free.

22 – Overly Supercharged Lamborghini

Alright…I have to admit here…I’m really not jealous of this car at all. And that makes me feel better than I can’t afford and will never be able to afford a Lambo. That being said, you might wonder why I’m not jealous of this car. And if you are, then you must be partially blind. This supercharged Lambo looks absolutely ridiculous. Just look at the stack on the front end. It’s absurd. How does that not get pulled off of the car when it’s going over 200 mph?

Seriously though, that front end issue has got to do a few things to this car that you do not want. It must throw the car off balance when going at speed. And it must also give quite a bit of resistance when trying to get to speed. I don’t care how quickly it helps to cool down the engine. There is just no way that it doesn’t get in the way of what could be a much faster and smoother drive. I don’t doubt that this car goes fast, and I guess I’m happy for the Rainbow Sheikh, but I do doubt that it goes faster than it could without that God-awful-looking mess on the hood.

21 – Golden RR Phantom

Sometimes, I really wish I had the money that the Rainbow Sheikh has to spend on his car collection. I wouldn’t spend it on so many cars, but it would be great to have that money. Between a classic Toyota Cruiser and what seems to be a Range Rover Evoque sits a Rolls-Royce Phantom. And not just any Rolls-Royce Phantom either.

What better way could you possibly think of to show off just how well-off you are than to not only own a Rolls-Royce Phantom, but to also paint the thing gold!? I guess there is a significant pot of gold at the end of the rainbow after all.

The Rainbow Sheikh has maybe gone a little too far with the golden car, considering the clear imagery between it and his rainbow cars, but it is cool to be able to draw the connection. Unfortunately, for the Sheikh, I think that having a Rolls-Royce Phantom painted gold does not actually make it look all that more valuable or awesome. I think the classic market of the Phantom is the best way to enjoy it. All this aftermarket garbage that the Rainbow Sheikh does certainly makes him popular, but not always tasteful. Oh, well.

20 – ’63 Rolls-Royce Phantom Queen Car

There really is something truly awesome about the Rainbow Sheikh’s classic car collection. Now, the classic car section of that collection is probably not as expansive as the giant and strange sections of his collection, but you end up finding gems like this old-school Rolls-Royce Phantom that sort of looks like a presidential or state car of some sort, fitted with the flag of the United Arab Emirates; ready to drive through town while people gawk and wish they could meet the celebrity inside.

Of course, as you can plainly see, this state car doesn’t get much use and is simply frequently polished to look shiny and perfect for those who come to tour the Rainbow Sheikh’s massive car museum. But just so you know, it wasn’t a president who toured in this car. This was actually a Rolls-Royce that the British Queen Elizabeth II toured in when she visited Dubai in 1979. This place is a museum! Unfortunately so because most of the cars get no use at all so it truly is a giant exhibit of cars young and old, tiny and gigantic, regular and bizarre. This Rainbow Sheikh guy has definitely got one of the most interesting places to visit in the entire UAE. If you ever find yourself there for some reason, I would suggest stopping in for a visit.

19 – Roadster

I am constantly amazed by the wide variety of cars in the Rainbow Sheikh’s collection. I mean, other than the car to the left of this roadster that appears as though it could be a Chevy Bel Air of a Ford Fairline (or something of that sort), everything else in this section of the museum looks pretty trivial, inexpensive, or even ugly. It floors me every time I look at his collection and notice cars I could afford or would simply never want to buy.

It cannot be argued that the Rainbow Sheikh really doesn’t seem to have a specific taste other than weird and/or eclectic. It’s incredibly odd. But there are certainly gems in the collection like this awesome and classy roadster. It’s tiny in comparison to the majority of the vehicles in the collection but I bet it would be wicked fun to drive around the museum in. If I were the Rainbow Sheikh, I would have a driver in the roadster and charge guests for a ride in this little thing to get around from one section of the museum to the other. Why not? Sure, the money made would basically be pennies to a guy like this but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to keep money flowing in.

18 – The Ram-Stang

This is perhaps one of the coolest, yet most tragic, yet most interesting, yet most attractive cars in the Rainbow Sheikh’s collection. You might be thinking a few things right now. First, that a Mustang was clearly used in the making of whatever the hell this thing is. Second, that the final product of this vehicle is reminiscent of a classic Rolls-Royce, complete with the wicked white walls. And third, that the Mustang body was altered to fit on a truck chassis! These are all very good things to think. Why? Because it turns out that this is a Ford Mustang which has been shoved together with a Dodge Ram and made to look like an epic and much larger and more powerful version of a classic Rolls-Royce.

The Ford Mustang is one of my very favorite cars in the world, so it does hurt me a little bit to see that one has been gutted in order to create this beast, but at the same time, I can’t help but admit that I really think this is pretty awesome! And for those who are wondering which engine was the one they ended up going with at the end of this construction, it should be obvious that the Sheikh went with a 6.4 L HEMI V8 for the Ram Stang.

17 – Pink Mercedes

Here is one of the Mercedes from the official fleet of seven that the Rainbow Sheikh commissioned and originally got his nickname from. Note the trim under the headlights and around the license plate. This is the same trim over the wheel wells also. This is one of seven cars that are definitely used by the Rainbow Sheikh.

Apart from each car representing a color of the rainbow to some extent, they are also used as specific cars for each day of the week. And why not? There are seven of them so you may as well take a different one each day. Just don’t forget your iPod cables in the car you drove the day before. That would be a real pain in the butt…ah, who am I kidding? This guy has seven Mercedes S Classes that he commissioned to be built and painted back in the 80s…I’m pretty sure that means that first: he doesn’t actually have a place to plug in an iPod and second: if he has modified the cars to accept an iPod, there is no way that he hasn’t loaded up each car with the exact same thing so that he never has to worry about forgetting something in one Mercedes or another.

16 – Moon Buggy?

Ok, come on now, I obviously don’t think that this is a Moon Buggy. It couldn’t be. I mean, it could be if you don’t mind the open concept and the inability to source oxygen thanks to lacking a sealed and oxygenated cab. Either way though, this hardly matters. Why? Because what this car actually is is nothing more than a concept model for a futuristic electric six-seater that I guess ended up losing funding.

I can see a few reasons why this specific car idea was not pushed further, but that has definitely not stopped the Rainbow Sheikh from getting his hands on it and keeping it shiny and shown off in his massive car collection.

If you look carefully in the background of this photo, you’ll find he doesn’t just have one of these bizarre electric cars from an alternate future. He has two of the bloody things. I think this guy has far more money than he has sense. And I’m not sure what, if anything, anyone can do about that because, as we all know, money makes the world go round. (Though realistically, it’s actually gravitational forces and orbital rotations that make the world go round.)

15 – Rainbow Fiat

I really cannot help but wonder what it is I would do if I had this much money to play with. Would I do silly things like get myself nicknamed after the type of coloring I use on a good chunk of my car collection? Would I get an old-school Fiat and have it painted in rainbow colors (including the wheels) just so I can hold up my reputation and nickname? I really don’t know, but I would be more than willing to find out. Too bad I’ll never have this sort of money to play with so we’ll never truly know..

The point here being, though, that this guy doesn’t just stop at his Mercedes collection when it comes to what he will or will not paint rainbow. I feel like this guy should be a spokesperson for Skittles, because I think maybe the only thing this guy has yet to do with a rainbow is taste it. He certainly experiences it all over the place otherwise, though. I can’t deny that it’s pretty cool that he’s embraced this style and nickname, but also, he could have picked something cooler than rainbow. But hey, I can hardly judge. The classic Fiat is a pretty cool little car, and you can’t deny that painted in rainbow colors, it is definitely a talking point.

14 – Monster Mercedes

I don’t care what anyone says, I think this is pretty awesome. I mean, I get being upset with this guy for taking a perfectly fine Mercedes body and shoving it on top of a monster truck chassis but…well, this guy has spent so much money on all sorts of Mercedes that I think he has the complete right to take one and totally jack it up to be a monster truck.

And hey, now Mercedes can say that they have a monster truck somewhere out there in the world. Oh, and if you’re interested in knowing what model the Rainbow Sheikh used in order to build this lovely monstrosity, he took a W116 Mercedes S-Class body for the project. For some reason or another, the Sheikh really does seem to have a lot of excitement when it comes to the Mercedes S Class. I don’t know what it is that it does for him but he has so many around that it’s almost unbelievable, but for the incredible amount of photographic evidence. Either way though, I really do think that this monster Mercedes is pretty awesome and must be a very popular part of the Sheikh’s car collection.

13 – Jeep Wrangler Giant Spider

This is a gigantic vehicle known as the Jeep Wrangler Giant Spider. Why is it known by this name? Well, this beastly vehicle started off with the body of a Jeep Wrangler. So, that accounts for the first part of the name. This Jeep Wrangler body was fitted to a Ford F-550 frame which, as you can plainly see, is not by any means a small-bodied vehicle. Then, to make this car look as fierce as it does, the grill was pulled from an International LoneStar semi truck.

The engine behind that grill is a 394 hp V-8  that ensures the Rainbow Sheikh a comfortable and fully-powered ride through the desert.

I have to be honest that if I had this beast of a machine, I would always use it, even if it guzzled gas like no man’s business. You might notice that this vehicle is very much designed like the Ram Stang in that its clear design inspiration is based on a 1930’s Rolls-Royce. There is a major difference between this and the Ram Stang though, besides size. Have you noticed the spider web spinner caps on the wheels yet? I imagine the desert must really mess with them but driving through town, they must look pretty damn cool.

12 – Rainbow Mercedes S Class Collection

Well, here it is.  This is the fleet that gave the Rainbow Sheikh his nickname in the very first place. He ordered seven Mercedes S Class cars for a special event and then went on to have them specially painted by a German company in every color of the rainbow. Each car also happens to represent each day of the week. I don’t know if the Sheikh actually went out of his way to choose a color for each day but that hardly matters. He has seven of these Mercedes and he can choose whichever one he wants to in order to go for a ride each day of the week. Though, having seen some of the interesting combination experiments that the Rainbow Sheikh has made really makes me wonder how he could ever find his way to driving these things. If I were him I would only drive the Ram Stang or the Giant Spider. The S Class Mercedes isn’t a bad thing by any means. It’s not like it should be a crime for having these cars kicking around. If anything, the Rainbow Sheikh should be given constant awards thanks to his care, detail, and commitment to his namesake.

11 – Golden Rainbow Mercedes

I have to give it to the Rainbow Sheikh, he really did thankfully find a more subtle way in which to still remain the Rainbow Sheikh without screaming that title with a fully rainbow-colored Mercedes or Mini. This Mercedes has got to have the most subtle accents of rainbow coloring out of any of the cars in the Sheikh’s collection. Good for him, I say. After all the time he has spent collecting and making his vehicles completely ridiculous, he finally found some degree of subtlety.

The gold plating might be a little much with this classic Mercedes, but at least it definitely fits with the theme and isn’t just some fully gold-colored car set aside from the fully rainbow-colored cars around the museum. This is just a great-looking Mercedes with some quaint rainbow-colored accents completed with golden trim. I really did not think that the Rainbow Sheikh was capable of any sort of subtlety or nuance at all, but he has proven me wrong with this piece of his collection. That being said though, this is a very small piece in an otherwise literally giant collection that features vehicles you would have never dreamt of. So he’s still pretty crazy, but I will applaud his work on this one.

10 – Mobile Globe Caravan

Yup. That’s right. This is something that actually exists in the world. Now, to be fair, this is not a ready to drive vehicle in and of itself, but something can haul this globe. I’m not sure what the hell is large enough and powerful enough to haul it, but it is technically a mobile caravan. I had to include this very bizarre piece from his collection for some pretty incredible reasons.

First of all, it’s huge! I mean, just look at the staircase leading up to the main door. Secondly, it is full of luxury and beggars belief in that regard. Before I actually give you the answer with regards to how many bedrooms and bathrooms this giant mobile globe has, I want you to think about it to yourself for a second or two. Just shout out a guess to the screen, if you wish. And now I’m going to tell you that you’re probably wrong. There are nine bedrooms in this caravan. Now, it is entirely possible that you may have thought there would be more, but let me tell you why it makes sense that there are only nine: because there are also nine bathrooms in this thing. Unbelievable!

9 – Giant Land Rover

I don’t know why this is a thing, but when you first arrive at the Rainbow Sheikh’s car collection (which is actually also the national auto museum in the United Arab Emirates) you may get the sense that you are in giant world from the Super Mario franchise. It is incredible. This giant Land Rover overlooks the highway before you turn off to feast your eyes on all of the other crazy pieces of the Sheikh’s collection. Now, in terms of mobility, I’m pretty sure that at least this specific giant recreation cannot drive itself.

There is sort of a tunnel system that runs underneath it along the highway though, so you can explore the underbelly of the beast.

I believe the Land Rover stands five stories tall, which is pretty incredible and definitely ridiculous. But it is a pretty good upscaled recreation of the classic Land Rover the Rainbow Sheikh wanted it to look like. And even if it is colored to blend in with the surrounding desert, you know that there is absolutely no way it could ever be hidden away or camouflaged, because it is one of the few things in this area that reaches up into the sky.

8 – Giant Jeep

Willy’s Jeep. If some of you are wondering who Willy is, I’m not about to dig into a history lesson here. All you need to know for now is that this is and has historically been referred to as Willy’s Jeep. It was the most commonly used vehicle in the United States’ war effort during World War II. It was quickly produced and could handle desert conditions very well. That being said, I’m not too sure about how well this one would handle desert conditions but, I imagine it would have no problem tackling to the dunes…because it is a gigantic upscaled recreation of the old U.S. army Jeep.

If you didn’t notice the people standing there before, then take a good look now to witness just how massive this thing is. There is a classic photo out there of Richard Hammond (of Top Gear fame) holding onto the steering wheel, which is many times larger than he is. Apparently, this Jeep really does move on its own, but I can’t imagine that it goes too incredibly fast. I mean, I don’t doubt that the Rainbow Sheikh could afford the engine power necessary to make this car really move but I think it might be just a little impractical to bother with.

7 – Giant Classic Dodge Power Wagon

Here is the good old classic 1950s Dodge Power Wagon. And by here it is, I mean to say that here are three different versions of it. In case you’re having trouble seeing or understanding, the centre one is an actual original Power Wagon from the 50s. The one to the left is a cute mini replica, and the beast behind both of those is the monstrous five-story Dodge Power Wagon that the Rainbow Sheikh had built because of what it symbolizes with regards to his power and success and wealth.

When the oil boom began in the 50s in the UAE, the Dodge Power Wagon was apparently among the most reliable vehicles around and was the only one that could really tackle the dunes, which I find fascinating because it really doesn’t look like it could.

But, that’s not the point. The point is that the giant upscaled version of the Power Wagon can move! It can only move at a top speed of 40 kmph, but it can move and that’s pretty incredible. Also, the driving area is probably not where you’d expect it. after all, this wagon is loaded with luxury bedrooms, a very size-able living/meeting room, a fully functional kitchen, and several bathrooms. So, the driver sits below all of that, underneath the truck and closer to the back wheels with a Dodge engine that only puts out 300 hp.

6 – Star Wars-Esque Caravan

Alright, for all of you Star Wars fans here, this is probably one of the cooler pieces in the collection. This largest of all Bedouin caravans, you might notice, is very reminiscent of the Jawa Sand Crawler caravan from Star Wars: A New Hope. Now, without someone in frame to really give you an idea of scale, it might be hard to notice but the wheels on this gigantic thing are certainly taller than the average person. By at least a couple of feet.

What does that mean? It means you would probably need something like the gigantic Dodge Power Wagon to drag this bad boy along. But it’s got to be worth it. I mean, just look at the size of the rooftop patio the Rainbow Sheikh is working with here.

That’s incredible! I would absolutely love to have a party on that machine. Not to mention the facilities inside. You may notice satellite coverage up above for viewing pleasure below. You even have a covered balcony that wraps around half of the mobile structure. It’s incredible! And, of course, this behemoth features bedrooms, bathrooms and full use of kitchen and living space as well. Who needs a mansion or palace when you have this sort of thing!?

5 – Safari Camper Van

I will simply never understand why this is a part of the Rainbow Sheikh’s collection. Compared to everything else we’ve already seen in the whole museum, this seems rather out of place. It’s not a luxury car. It’s probably not even a limited edition or special model of a camper van. It just happens to have a really god-awful paint job on it, so awful that the only way I could possibly justify that this is really something the Rainbow Sheikh wanted is because it has most of the colors of the rainbow at least somewhere in the paintwork.

But come on, “California exclusive?” Give me a break. I really do hope that the Sheikh bought this ridiculous camper with the airbrushed paint job already done to it, because I really would just not be able to understand why he would go out of his way to have that sort of work added after the fact. I know I can’t really be one to accurately analyze his mind since he is so clearly out-to-lunch when it comes to his vehicles but I figured he might have a little more class than whatever is going on with this bloody camper van. I mean, it’s a camper van!

4 – Rainbow Buggy

Well, the Rainbow Sheikh certainly does know how to make up for some of the more questionable pieces in his incredibly eclectic collection. Moving on from the very strange camper van and the gigantic luxury caravans that need their own giant vehicles to pull them, we come across this little speeder. Of course, it’s not the only little cart in the whole collection. You can also spy another one behind it. And while it may not matter to too many of you, the car to the left of this rainbow buggy is quite possibly a flying car.

I’m sure that it doesn’t actually work very well to that effect but it is suspected that that is what it was intended for. Either way, I would love to see this buggy in action but I am willing to bet that it would not handle the desert dunes very well. I think the engine would clog up and explode pretty darn quickly, but get it on a little track and I bet it could haul ass and make someone’s day. I’m not sure if the Rainbow Sheikh has ever actually driven the thing though. He seems to stick to driving his weird science projects like the Ram Stang and Giant Spider, or just one of his many colored Mercedes.

3 – Benz Patent-Motorwagen

This is actually one of the most interesting and perhaps most valuable pieces in the whole collection. It might look like nothing special other than old here but this is perhaps one of the very first official production automobiles in the world. The name Benz Patent-Motorwagen might give it away that this is indeed a Mercedes. It has not really been determined whether this particular Motorwagen is an original or a replica, but I have to say that I really would not put it past the Rainbow Sheikh to have an original Mercedes like this, especially given the relationship between the Sheikh and Mercedes. And given how much the Sheikh is a lover of automotive history with his glorified and gigantic monuments to the oil boom and to the vehicles that allowed it to happen, I would not doubt for a second that this could be an original.

Otherwise, he would simply have made this a gigantic addition to his outdoor theme park of expansionist vehicles that helped make his country filthy rich. This is truly a marvel to behold. And to think, if you translated the German currency of 1885 into today’s US dollars, this thing would be worth about $4,000. This was definitely a rich vehicle back in the day.

2 – Armor

No car collection is complete without some sort of armor, I guess. How else are you going to defend your collection or take on those who would try to steal from your collection? Realistically though, I find it incredibly interesting that this guy’s collection can go from something simple like New York cabs and cop cars to gigantic, mobile and livable caravans, to little roadsters and carts to this piece of armor.

In addition to this particular specimen, the Rainbow Sheikh also has a 1972 Land Rover Shortland (which is essentially a military-grade armored Land Rover) as well as several jeeps and soldier trucks.

Sure, the Rainbow Sheikh’s army is essentially from the 50s to the 70s, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the means to raise an actual army of vehicles. I mean, he does have over 400 in his collection already. I’m sure it wouldn’t take much for him to throw a few tanks in there and then add some helicopters to land on top of his Star Wars Sand Crawler caravan. It is scary to know that someone like this has the personal wealth to finance a huge army but it is a relief that he spends all of his money on ridiculous vehicles instead.

1– 8Wheeler Truck

This is the Nissan Patrol, or rather, this is the Nissan Patrol with a few extra wheels. I have no idea what possesses this Rainbow Sheikh to do this sort of thing to his cars, but I guess if you were going to mess around with a car, you may as well do it to something like the Nissan Patrol. No one is really going to care about the fate of the car, they’re just going to wonder about the sanity of the person who has built such a horrendous-looking thing.

But hey, if it handles better in the sand because it has 8-wheel-drive, then that’s pretty cool, but I think the Rainbow Sheikh would be much better off just getting a vehicle that is already meant for the dunes.

There are plenty of Jeeps and Land Rovers out there that I’m sure would love to be added to the massive collection the Sheikh is always adding to. But far be it from me to understand exactly what goes on in this man’s head when he thinks something like “ok, I like the Nissan Patrol, but if we could maybe add four more wheels to it…then I think we will have something great.”