Many have seen photos, but not many know the full details behind this special project. Built for the famously known Royal Family of Brunei car collection, this is the 1996 Bentley Buccaneer, one of just six specially built examples for the royal family. This example is believed to be chassis SCBZH16C3TCH00434 and is often seeing wearing a KF9928/BS1954 number plate. Of the six cars built, this is the only finished in black, with the others being blue, silver, grey, red and charcoal. To begin, it’s important to know that the ‘Buccaneer’ naming convention refers back to the 17th century in the Caribbean Islands where the term ‘Buccaneer’ referred to pirates who attacked Spanish shipping. This special model was designed was designed by Geoff Matthews Design (GMD) from Coventry, and was subsequently built by France Design (FD-Heuliez) from Le Pin in France. An interesting note about the special built Buccaneer model is the VIN numbers of each of the six cars. Numbers four & five in Bentley VINs indicate the actual model of the car itself, however, many of the Royal Family’s Bentley VINs feature the letters ‘ZH’, which don’t indicate any specific model from Bentley whatsoever. Interestingly, although it’s not public as to what ‘ZH’ stands for, the ZH chassis was the basis for a number of other coachbuilt cars (mostly Bentley & Rolls Royce) that were delivered to the royal family of Brunei. The letter ‘H’ in the VIN does reportedly represent a ‘non standard’ model used only for cars built for special customers, mostly in Brunei. As for the six Buccaneer models created, they follow chassis (SCBZH16C3TCH00434-SCBZH16C2TCH00439). Some believe the Buccaneer may have played a pivotal role in the design of influence on the well-known contemporary Continental GT model. The Buccaneer variant is constructed on a Continental R (SZ) chassis and features a bespoke L-Series SuFaCon 6.75L twin-turbo engine, originally engineered for the Brunei Royal Family.
How many made? At least 6 total cars were produced.
Engine: 6.75 Litre V8
Debut: N/A
Top Speed: N/A
0-60mph: N/A
Photo Credit: @dani_irfan
Research: @rarecarsonly
1996 Bentley Buccaneer
10.04.2025
Bentley