World
The crazy value of Syria dictator Bashar Assad’s car collection unearthed
It may not come as a surprise that a military dictator would command an impressive fleet of vehicles but rebels found just that under al-Assad’s palace.
A civil war lasting 13 years over in 13 days. The Syrian Civil War burst back into western news and was gone as soon as it arrived. A confluence of factors: withdrawal of Russian forces, weakened government allies, and a long ceasefire, strengthened the rebels hand to such an extent that there was virtually no resistance. Bashar al-Assad, now former president of Syria, was forced to flee in his private jet on Saturday.
While the Ba’ath government may be gone, the civil war still has difficulties to overcome. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the former al-Qaeda splinter, has emerged as the strongest force but still has to contend with Kurdish forces in the north-east of the country, as well as Turkish-aligned Free Syrian Army.
Amidst the chaotic scenes in Damascus, the capital, Assad had no time to leave with any valuables. These riches were keenly seized upon by rebels and demonstrators, paraded on social media as trophies of the fallen regime.
Bashar al-Assad’s car collection
Though yet to be independently verified, videos have been circulating online of the al-Assad’s garage. The BBC has confirmed looting in the presidential palace.
On show are dozens of cars while incredulous rebels look on in amazement. We’ve gone through what can be seen, with the garage including:
- Rolls Royce Phantom
- Aston Martin DB7
- Ferraris
- F40
- F430
- 355 F1 GTS
- Mercedez Benz SLS AMG
- Audi R8
Alongside these impressive cars are a dozen Mercedes Benz coupes and numerous BMWs. Assad seems to be quite fond of German engineering.
Aside from the easily identifiable cars, we make some estimates on the other vehicles. By looking at the market value of them brand new, then this fleet is worth apporximately $6,842,000 based on latest specs of top versions in the US.
This is just from the identifiable vehicles, and including the other vehicles means the stash is worth a lot more.
The most expensive single car is the Ferrari F40, worth at least $3,000,000.
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