Two car-obsessed brothers inspired by the Queen have transformed a street into a showcase of their decades old fleet of luxury Rolls Royces, Bentleys and Porsches.
Shoukat Ali, 49, and his brother Bugsy, 47, have around 100 cars parked outside the dozen properties they own in Ward End, Birmingham.
The number of vehicles has become so large that they now have to ask tenants to sign a written contract allowing them to park a Bentley or Rolls Royce Phantom on driveways or at the rear of their homes.
The brothers have become well-known within the local community and recently treated an elderly neighbor to a spin in a Rolls Royce Limousine to celebrate his 80th birthday.
Bugsy, a father-of-two, said: ‘We’ve got 100 cars, we restore and sell classic cars at garages. We keep some of them on driveways outside.
‘We own around a dozen houses on Washwood Heath Road and we’ve got a contract with some of the tenants to park a car on the driveway.
Shoukat Ali, 49, and his brother Bugsy, 47, have a fleet of 100 cars parked outside the dozen properties they own
The brothers have assembled dozens of luxury Rolls Royces and Bentleys along the residential street in Birmingham
The brothers have been building the classic car collection over several years and have become popular members within the local community
The brothers recently treated an elderly neighbor to a spin in a Rolls Royce Limousine to celebrate his 80th birthday
The we restore and sell classic cars at garages
Bugsy said his interest in cars stretches back to his childhood through the 1960s and 70s when his uncles would take him out for drives
‘We leave one space and they are happy. They are neighbors from heaven. I’ve got one neighbor called Fred and he’s an army veteran. On his 80th birthday, we took him and his Mrs out to the local pub in a Rolls Royce Limousine.
‘He said it was the best birthday he had ever had. If they ask to move the car, we will. We like being able to see my cars everywhere. We like gazing at them.
‘Even the local police are good to us and let us know when the car tax is up. Everyone knows us.’
Bugsy said his interest in cars stretches back to his childhood through the 1960s and 70s, when his uncles would often take him out for a drive.
He added: ‘We’ve always been into cars. When I was a kid my uncle used to take me out in his Mini 1275 GT and our neighbor on Washwood Heath Road was a funeral director who used to have a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow.
‘He used to take me out in it when I was 10-years-old. My uncles were car traders and we used to go auctions when we were kids.
‘After the 90s, my uncle got me into keeping a few cars here and there. Everybody copies someone. I’m not copying Tik Tokers, I’m copying the Queen.
‘I loved her style, the glamor and she rode in a Rolls Royce Phantom. I’ve got up to 20 Rolls Royces from the 1960s.
Shoukat and Bugsy pictured inside one of the luxury cars within their 100-strong fleet in Birmingham
The brothers have to ask tenants to sign a written contract allowing them to park the vehicles on driveways along the street
Despite the extensive collection, the brothers say they have no idea how much the fleet is worth
‘My favorite is the Rolls Royce Corniche which I bought for £40,000 around two years ago. It’s elegant and beautiful. It’s got lambswool carpet throughout and you don’t get bumpers like that.
‘The Rolls Royce limousines are linked to a duke who was the Queen’s cousin but I am not sure. I bought it off a car collector.’
Despite the extensive collection, the brothers say they have no idea how much the fleet is worth, instead they are just ‘enchanted’ by them.
Bugsy continued: ‘Some of them are going to stay with me for life, others I will sell and then buy something on. I’ve got to make a living.’
His brother Shoukat said: ‘New cars are just plastic. Old cars are the best. If these were in a garage you would never see them.’
And Fred Cartwright, the 80-year-old treated to a drive in the limousine as a thank you for allowing the brother to park their Rolls Royce Phantom in his driveway, added: ‘They are good neighbours. I will ask him when I’m going out and and he moves it. He took me and the wife out for my 80th for a drive in it.’
Another local, Kheizer Javad, a 35-year-old who regularly stops to observe the cars, said: ‘I’m fascinated by the cars. They are very friendly and welcoming people.’