Amman: At 10 the young Hussein who would later become king of Jordan received his first wheels, a bicycle, that he sold reluctantly a year later to help raise money for the cash-strapped family.

His mother consoled him and said he would grow to be strong, forget the bicycle and drive beautiful cars in his lifetime.

The late monarch, who died two years ago, related the story to Iranian biographer Freidoune Sahebjam in the 1975 book "My Job As King".

The beautiful cars that the king collected have been put under one roof in the Royal Car Museum, the brainchild of his son and successor King Abdullah II.

The royal stable was inaugurated by Abdullah at the end of May and will soon open to the public with a display of over 7O vehicles in pristine condition, including an antique 1916 maroon Cadillac and a 1909 French-made motorcycle.

Like pictures, the automobiles tell tales of the turbulent life and times of King Hussein who drove the fast lanes of Jordan and Middle East politics before succumbing in his battle with cancer in February 1999.

"Every car here tells a story," says museum director Abdel Moneim al-Jarifi, who ran the royal garages and chauffeured more crowned heads than he can remember during his 42-year service for King Hussein.

With a sweep of the hand he shows the "fast cars" that were King Hussein's favourites, including a Ferrari and two Porsches, and "fun" cars such as an apple- green snowmobile and a German red "Amphicar" that navigates on water.

The "Friday" cars, including a 1935 Cord and several Packards, were those he used on Jordan's weekly day of rest when he would drive up to his farm in Hummar, outside Amman, or visit friends.

Also featured are Rolls Royces and Lincoln Continentals that were used for ceremonial functions.

"This one is Omm al-Duyuf (the mother of guests) because many Arab dignitaries such as Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba, Anwar Sadat (Egypt), and Hafez al-Assad (Syria) rode in it," Jariri said, gesturing at one sleek beauty.

"His Majesty called it Mabrouka (the blessed one) because it witnessed many happy occasions," he said of the convertible, beige Lincoln Continental.

Next to Mabrouka sits a 1956 armoured Cadillac, once owned by the late US president Dwight D Eisenhower who offered it to King Hussein after he ascended the throne in 1953 at the age of 18.

"Seyedna (His Majesty) rubbed shoulders with all the leaders who have left an impact in the world. These cars express the history of this world," said antique car consultant Raja Gargour.

Gargour, who ran a restoration shop in the United States that was once owned by Phil Hill, the first American to win the Formula One World Drivers Championships in 1961, provided counsel for the museum.

"Since 1984 Abu Fayyez and I have been very good friends. I would get him anything he needed from America, spare parts or reference books," Gargour said.

One of the precious items he helped find is an original Boyce Motor Meter hood ornament that he bought for $ 500, 200 times more than its turn-of-the century price, for the 1916 Cadillac.

Its worn-out container is also on display.

A poster-size photograph next to a Mercedes Gull Wing 300 SL sports vehicle shows King Hussein receiving the keys to the car from Gargour's father, Hanna Gargour, the former Mercedes agent in Jordan.

"It is a collector's dream car. His Majesty used it a lot in races in the heydays of the late 1950s," said Gargour standing next to the vehicle that was among the late monarch's favourite set of wheels.

A 1952 black Aston Martin that the king drove during his school days in England, where he graduated from Harrow and Sandhurst Military Academy, is another prized item on display.

The king offered the car to King Faisal II of Iraq, the cousin who gave him his first bicycle, who was later killed in a military coup in 1958.

"We lost track of the car after those events until someone saw it in London. But the vehicle had been tampered with and the engine replaced with a Volvo and we were not sure it was the same," Abu Fayyez said.

King Hussein put an end to the confusion when he spotted the hole in the hood that served as a flag holder.

But perhaps what attests most to the magical life of King Hussein is the metallic grey Mercedes 300 flaunting a speed of 240 miles per hour which, in 1970, helped him escape unscathed from one of many assassination attempts.