Uncovering the Mysterious Secrets of Assad’s Abandoned Luxury Cars in War-Torn Syria

The Unlikely Luxury of a Syrian Dictator’s Car Collection

You may have heard about the opulent car collection of Bashar al-Assad, the former dictator of Syria. What you might not know is that his collection includes some truly unusual vehicles, like a 1990s Revcon Trailblazer, a six-wheeled motorhome that’s essentially a luxury bug-out vehicle.

A True Original

The Revcon Trailblazer was ahead of its time, boasting a $180,000 starting price in 1993 as the "world’s only all-terrain motorcoach." Only 67 were ever built, and a few survivors have popped up for sale in recent years. I wrote about one that was listed for $125,000, but others before it were offered up for around $45,000.

Power and Size

Every Trailblazer I’ve seen is powered by a 460-cubic-inch gas V8 with an automatic transmission. Importantly, they aren’t true 6x6s—two of the wheels ride on a tag axle with no driveline connected. It surely needs that tag axle to manage the massive weight as these suckers are 30 feet long, 10 feet 6 inches tall, and 8 feet wide.

Assad’s Collection

So, what is the Syrian dictator doing with one of these rare vehicles? Unlike other celebrity car collections, most in Assad’s dusty warehouse seem to be roadworthy. We only get a brief glimpse of the Trailblazer, so it’s hard to say what condition it’s in, but I have a hard time picturing him hitting the desert in one of these. I can only assume he bought it just to say he did.

A Running Theme

In case you hadn’t noticed, that’s a running theme among people like him. They buy things to show off their wealth, rather than actually using them.

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Images

Image: A 1990s Revcon Trailblazer, a six-wheeled motorhome

Image: Another Revcon Trailblazer, not owned by Assad

Image: The Revcon Trailblazer’s interior

These photos give you a good idea of what the rig is probably like inside and out.