Top 5 British number plates
By Zain Ullah
Owning a number plate which matches your name, initials or even the car you drive can make your vehicle look that extra bit fancy and unique. It’s safe to say those with much common names find it harder to purchase a private number plate that matches the name you want word for word, however today Art of Gears will be looking into some of the most expensive vehicle plates to ever be sold on the plate trading market in the United Kingdom.
‘ F 1’
The number plate ‘F 1′ is made up from one letter and one number which can be read as Formula 1, the most famous racing event in the world. In 2008, this plate was purchase by vehicle designer and car customizer Afzal Kahn for £440,000 (£750,000 today) which has been on multiple hyper cars since it was purchased including the Bugatti Veyron and Mercedes SLR McLaren. In 2019, Kahn was offered around £10m for the plate which he declined as the price will increase in the next few years.
‘RR 1’
The number plate ‘RR 1‘ consists of two letters and in short is abbreviated as ‘Rolls Royce 1‘, this plate is dated to 1925, almost 100 years ago. It first came onto the plate trading market in the 1960’s where it was purchased for almost £5,000, which is equivalent of around £150,000 today.
The plate was then sold again in 2018 for £472,000 to unknown buyers. The plate has been listed for sale for around £500,000 and will more than likely be snapped up by an owner of a Rolls Royce.
‘GB 1’
‘GB 1’ has the same prefix as the number plate above. However, this number plate can be understood as ‘Great Britain 1’ with the owner clearly proud of their country. This plate is currently registered on a black Rolls Royce 2009 respectively.
With this plate being the closest link to the United Kingdom name, it comes at no surprise that this is also in the six figure ball park. When sold in November 2009, it set the new buyer back £325,000 however if sold now this plate could sell for around £500,000 or even more.
’25 O’
This registration plate consists of two numbers one letter and was purchased for almost £520,000 in 2014 by John Collins (automotive collector and dealer) for his grey Ferrari 250 which he purchased for more than £10m.
The number plate is one of the United Kingdoms most notable number plates being registered to such a rare and expensive classic supercar.
‘9 AM’
Having a registration plate that matches the time, especially 9am in the morning is only someone that loves the time can own. Currently on the plate trading market for £120,000, this consists of one number and two letters.
However, similar number plates but with the three numbers two letters prefix can cost a lot cheaper. For example ‘758 AM‘ is currently for sale on the market with a minimum asking price of around £20,000 or £550 per month.