by When scrolling through the Limo Broker website, you all see that many of the wedding cars boast unique, incredibly-suitable number plates. From plates like ‘DR3AM’ and ‘WEDD1NG’ to ones specific to the cars themselves, a unique plate makes for a unique car. This is why we were rather excited to hear the news of a recent auction; one preparing to sell of the number plate ’RR1’. Designated to sit on the front of a stunning Rolls Royce, we, like many car enthusiasts, expected the plate to go for big money. And, we were not wrong.
According to auctioneers, Bohams, the ‘RR1’ plate should have fetched a sum between £500,000 and £600,000. Though not quite making the estimate, one individual still left the auction £460,000 lighter. While the purchaser is yet to be identified, what we do know is that the plate was sold by British carmakers, Bentley.
With an interesting backstory, Bentley bought the plate back in 1968 for £4,800. At the time, this purchase broke records, being the biggest sum anyone had paid for a number plate in the UK. But, little did they know that in 50 years, the plate would increase in value by an eye-watering 9,483 per cent.
At present, the record for the largest sum paid for a plate is held by ‘F1’ which went on sale last year for £5M!
Toby Wilson, head of automobilia at Bonhams, said:
“We are delighted with this result, the most ever paid for a registration plate at a private auction.
“The impressive amount it achieved reflects the importance of Rolls-Royce in the motoring world, and also the fact that car owners are always looking for the extra something to make their pride and joy even more unique.”
Let us know what you think. Are people paying too much for number plates or do they warrant such price tags?
