{"id":951041,"date":"2026-10-29T20:26:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T20:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/951041\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T20:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T20:26:20","slug":"fia-president-owns-160-american-v8-cars-says-european-cars-are-like-matchboxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/951041\/","title":{"rendered":"FIA President Owns 160 American V8 Cars, Says European Cars Are ‘Like Matchboxes’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\tThe Drive \ud83e\udd1d your inbox. Every weekday<\/p>\n

The Daily Brief wraps up the biggest stories and our exclusive reporting on the auto industry and car culture.<\/p>\n

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem<\/a> is often seen at Formula 1<\/a> races worldwide interacting with drivers, mingling with dignitaries, huddling with federation officials to improve the sport<\/a>, and, most recently, trying to bring back simpler, V8-powered F1 cars. In his personal time\u2014which I can\u2019t imagine he has much of\u2014he\u2019s a passionate racer and car collector. And despite owning some of the world\u2019s most outrageous hypercars, he recently told me his favorites all have American V8s<\/a> under the hood.<\/p>\n

During a recent chat at the F1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Ben Sulayem waxed poetic about American cars, their V8 engines, and restomods. He explained where his love for big, floaty cars came from, why he loves them so much, and why building or restoring a car is more satisfying than simply buying one that\u2019s already in pristine shape.<\/p>\n

\"\"Screenshot via Shmee150\u2019s YouTube <\/p>\n

\u201cI love American V8s,\u201d Ben Sulayem told The Drive. \u201cYou gotta remember where I was brought up [United Arab Emirates]: open roads, low cost of fuel\u2014same thing as in the United States\u2014so the American cars fit very well there. Even today in America, it\u2019s all about the V8. The roar, the feeling of being free\u2014you know, I come to the States, and you have big cars here\u2014and they have presence. I go to Europe, and they have, like, Matchboxes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven with all the supercars I have in my collection, I actually enjoy my restomods most. Oh, I love them, because I do them myself. I\u2019m not about, \u2018here\u2019s a company I\u2019m paying a few hundred thousand to and they will give me the car.\u2019 No, it\u2019s about the journey. It\u2019s about testing the handling, cutting the frame in the front, putting in a different frame, moving the engine, and so on. The suspension has to be right when it comes to compression and rebound, the wheels, the brakes, the steering rack, the steering column, all of this,\u201d added Ben Sulayem.<\/p>\n

\"DUBAI,<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nRubina A. Khan via Getty and Screenshot via Shmee150\u2019s YouTube<\/p>\n

From ultra-modern machinery like a Mercedes-AMG One (and its CLK-GTR Strassenversion predecessor), Ferrari Daytona SP3, Bugatti Bolide, Koenigsegg Agera RS, Lexus LFA, and GMA T.50 to old-school stuff like a Jaguar XJ220, Mercedes 300SL, and Ferrari F40, Ben Sulayem\u2019s collection is about quality and quantity. It even includes a one-off Studebaker pickup powered by a BMW F80 M3, as referenced in this Shmee150 YouTube video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Even in private conversation with the former rally racer, he didn\u2019t divulge the exact number of cars he owns (some argue he doesn\u2019t even know precisely, but I take him for the kind of guy who knows every tiny detail), much less how much it\u2019s worth. There\u2019s a reason why photos of the entire collection\u2014or even of every car\u2014are basically non-existent: A quick Google search shows some amounts around $100,000,000, but those are unofficial estimates. Still, judging by how carefully he\u2019s assembled his collection, I sense the monetary value matters little to him. He adores his cars.<\/p>\n

\"Wife<\/p>\n

\"DUBAI,
\nRabih Moghrabi and Rubina A. Khan via Getty<\/p>\n

However, when asked for the total number of V8-powered American cars he owned, Ben Sulayem quickly answered: \u201c160.\u201d When asked the clich\u00e9 but always entertaining question, \u201cIf you could only keep one, which one would it be?\u201d He had this to say:<\/p>\n

\u201cA Cadillac, for sure,\u201d he answered.\u2029\u201dThey\u2019re big, and they call them road boats for a reason, you know; they are huge. They have a nice feeling on the road. I like big cars because of my father, and I also love the Chrysler Imperial, and I like Lincolns. They are big cars, but they don\u2019t always drive well, you know? So I like improving the base, the handling of them. It\u2019s like, you have the power, but can you stop it? No [laughs]. So I like to make sure it turns and stops with modern technology and brakes, tires, and all of this.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a journey that I don\u2019t want to end, and then when you end it, and then you enjoy the car, there are always other areas where you can improve it\u2014and then I do a second car and a third car. I don\u2019t want to pick favorites, but \u2029I\u2019m just telling you that the cars I enjoy more, the ones I actually drive, are the American cars I modify myself,\u201d said Ben Sulayem with a smile.<\/p>\n

\"German<\/p>\n

\"United
\nRabih Moghrabi and Jorge Ferrari via Getty<\/p>\n

With the end of the 2026 F1 season around the corner, hopefully Ben Sulayem will spend some time at home and get to drive his cars. That is, if he doesn\u2019t sign up to compete in a rally race somewhere, of course.<\/p>\n

Email the author at jerry@thedrive.com<\/p>\n

Add The Drive as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to see more of our reporting.<\/p>\n

As deputy editor, Jerry draws on a decade of industry experience and a lifelong passion for motorsports to guide The Drive\u2019s short- and long-term coverage.<\/p>\n

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Sell your old or busted car with no hoops, haggles, or headaches. Enter your ZIP to see what Peddle will pay for it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Drive \ud83e\udd1d your inbox. Every weekday The Daily Brief wraps up the biggest stories and our exclusive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":951042,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-951041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=951041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/951042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}