Perhaps one of the most supreme forms of automotive luxury is the bespoke one-off creation. From the Ferrari F90 to the Bentley Camelot, custom creations for the wealthy royals of Brunei have captured the attention of automotive enthusiasts for years. Most of these cars have been secreted away until one day one of these cars makes a rare public appearance. Some of the vehicles in this exclusive — and sizable — collection manage to find their way to public sale. Today’s Good Find Friday car, a 1995 Land Rover Convertible Coupe, is said to be one of these cars.

Based on accessible information, Styling Garage was a custom coachbuilder and tuning company located near Hamburg in Germany. Founded in 1972 and closed due to bankruptcy in 1986, it was quasi-reborn as a company called Design & Technik in 1987.

Mercedes-Benz customizations made up the bulk of their work, which was predominantly built for buyers in the Arab world. The Sultan of Brunei is to have been a regular client, lending credibility to the claim that the subject of this article is a product of this relationship.

How can a car from 1995 claim to be an SGS or Styling Garage vehicle if the company closed in 1986? It’s said that Design & Technik, who also performed conversions on Mercedes-Benz and other automobiles, would use the SGS brand at times. Very little information could be found on the Design & Technik period of the business in a quick search for this article, which is surprising since it seems to have operated for 20 years.

This particular Land Rover Range Rover is reported to have been a commission for Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei. It is being offered for sale by RM Sotheby’s in their Shift Online Auction. Lots are open for bidding now and close on June 4, 2025.

The P38A is the second-generation Range Rover, replacing the classic Range Rover which began production in 1970. It marked the initial evolution of the Range Rover into a more premium and luxurious vehicle. A new Range Rover V8 utilized the Bosch fuel injection system from BMW.

The body of this Range Rover has been significantly modified from its original 4-door configuration to a 2-door coupe. The front doors have been lengthened and the rear doors removed, though the overall length of the car is said to be unchanged.

Obviously, the roof has been removed and replaced with a custom power convertible top, and the underlying rear structure has been stiffened to compensate.

The auction catalog mentions that the design includes a rather striking addition of an upkick to the beltline as you approach the rear of the car. An optical illusion is created by this change, where the car looks almost tiny. Range Rovers aren’t small, but this almost looks as svelte as a Fiat Panda or even a Volkswagen Rabbit Cabriolet from some angles. Its size is betrayed a bit by its stance and tall slab sides, however.

The body of the P38A Range Rover is supported by a new automatic, speed-adjusting air suspension. The settings could also be manually adjusted by the driver in response to weather or road conditions. No mention is made of any suspension changes or adjustments to the suspension as a result of the convertible conversion.

Rear seat accommodations were retained and the entire interior was retrimmed in a white leather, replacing the car’s original tan interior. The exterior paint color of Beluga Black was retained. The window frames were completely removed, giving the interior a hugely open feeling with the top down, as you’d expect. This car may take the trophy for the largest frameless power window glass. No rollover protection appears to have been installed.

The RM Sotheby’s catalog description claims the car was originally delivered to the Brunei royal family’s personal garage under the Beverly Hills Hotel. Apparently it was acquired by a California resident in 1999, but no details on this transaction or how it came into the consignor’s possession is included.

The car is offered with a British Heritage Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate documenting its original status as a 1995 Range Rover P38A painted in Beluga Black over Saddle leather.

The average price of a standard, unmodified 1995 Range Rover is approximately $12,740. Obviously, a rare custom variant of a P38A Land Rover commissioned and formerly owned by one of the world’s wealthiest and most prolific collectors can’t be compared to your average used classic example.

I haven’t been able to find any recent sales of a P38A Range Rover convertible, so parallel comparables will need to be studied in order to determine the market. There are numerous examples of custom coachbuilt Range Rovers available to reference. The average price across comparable examples is roughly $60,000.

The closest comparable to the subject car is this 1973 Range Rover Cabriolet custom built for King Juan Carlos of Spain. It sold at auction for €80,000 or about $90,000 back in 2018.

Convertible conversions, especially those performed on sport utility vehicles, can be polarizing among enthusiasts. The stylistic integrity of the factory’s design is often negatively affected by the modifications.

I’ve already seen some online chatter about this lot that is generally negative, but once again I find myself on the other side of the subjective argument. I tend to agree with RM Sothebys that this is a special opportunity to own a unique vehicle with an interesting provenance that can also be a ton of fair weather fun.

Given the market has mostly returned to pre-pandemic levels, I estimate that this car will either fail to meet reserve, or will hammer close to the low end of the estimate of $100,000-$125,000. Bidding is already up to $50,000 as of this writing, so I may be proven wrong. We’ll find out in about 6 days!

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!