Look: $12 Million Rolls-Royce, Wall Of UAE Plates Adihex's Classic Car Treasures

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) A $12 million Rolls-Royce, a hand-built British sports car from 1949 and a wall covered with old UAE number plates offered visitors at Adihex 2026 a very different kind of journey through the region's motoring history.

The 1935 Rolls-Royce Phantom II is one of the centrepieces of the Sharjah Classic Cars Club's display, with only 37 cars of this type manufactured and just nine believed to remain around the world, according to Ahmed bin Handhal, director of the Sharjah Classic Cars Museum.

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The car has an estimated market value of about $12 million, although its value could be higher because it remains in its original condition, with no modifications made since it left the factory.

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When new, the car cost £65,000, a staggering sum for the time. Bin Handhal said the amount was equivalent to the price of roughly seven to 10 houses in Britain at the time.

The car reflects a period when luxury meant details that have long disappeared from modern vehicles. Its cabin is finished in natural leather, while the front and rear passenger areas were separated by an internal glass partition to provide privacy.

There was no air-conditioning. Instead, openings at the front of the car were designed to allow air into the cabin.

Its spare tyres were mounted externally, a practical feature at a time when many roads were still unpaved and tyres could be damaged more easily.

The car's deep black finish also reflects the techniques of its era. According to bin Handhal, fish scales were used in the paint process to give the black finish its distinctive shine.

The museum's second major exhibit is a 1949 Riley RMC, a hand-built British sports car with a natural leather and walnut interior.

Riley produced the model between 1948 and 1951, and the museum says 407 were made, with 192 surviving today. Two examples of the model are in the UAE, including the car on display at ADIHEX.

The Riley is valued at between $3.5 million and $5 million, according to the museum.

It also illustrates an early era of vehicle customisation, when buyers could choose elements including the type of leather, paint and other specifications rather than simply selecting from a fixed factory configuration.

The car was produced in four colours: beige, black, dark blue and green, and has retained its original condition.

Despite being nearly 80 years old, the Riley could accelerate from zero to 100kph in about 12 seconds, bin Handhal said. It was based on a sports-car design rather than being specifically built as a racing car.

A badge on the Riley marks an award recognising it as one of the most beautiful cars of its period, according to the museum.

The story behind the two cars is also part of why the Sharjah Classic Cars Club brought them to an exhibition focused on hunting, equestrianism and heritage.

“We wanted to connect authenticity and passion,” bin Handhal said, explaining that the club was highlighting the different hobbies and interests promoted by Adihex rather than presenting cars specifically used for hunting.

The display also offers visitors a glimpse into a different kind of UAE motoring history through a collection of old number plates.

The wall includes plates from different stages of the country's history, including plates issued before the UAE was formed and those used in the years that followed. The most recent plates in the collection were discontinued around 2003.

Bin Handhal has turned the collection into a guessing game.

Whenever someone approaches the wall, he asks whether they recognise any of the plates. If they do, he challenges them to let him guess which year they were born based on the plate they remember.

When I recognised one of the old Abu Dhabi plates, he guessed that I was born around 1987 - close enough to my actual birth year.

Some old Abu Dhabi plates were categorised by colour, with red regarded as the most elite, followed by blue, while grey plates were considered less prestigious in terms of auction and resale value. The system was discontinued in the early 2000s.

For the club, preserving these objects is about more than displaying expensive cars.

Bin Handhal said the Sharjah Classic Cars Club has about 4,000 members and provides a platform for owners and enthusiasts to preserve, maintain and use classic vehicles.

Owners also take part in rallies, although the events are not about speed. Instead, the challenge is for a classic car to complete the distance, reach its destination and return while remaining in good working condition.

“We call it a rally, but the purpose of a classic car rally is not speed,” bin Handhal said.“The goal is for the car to cover the distance and show that it is still working and can go and come back.”

The club also connects owners with events and productions looking for period vehicles. Bin Handhal said members' cars are increasingly being used at weddings and in films and television productions requiring vehicles from earlier eras.

The museum itself has an even deeper connection to UAE history, with vehicles belonging to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan among its collection. Some of those cars were used on hunting trips.

The museum chose not to bring those vehicles to Adihex this year because of concerns about crowds and the risk of visitors getting too close to the cars.

Instead, the two British classics offer a glimpse into the world of motoring before and after the Second World War, when a £65,000 Rolls-Royce could represent the value of several homes, cars had no air-conditioning and spare tyres were mounted outside the vehicle.

And decades later, their value is measured not only by their age, but by rarity, originality and the passion of the collectors willing to preserve them.

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