Many consider registration number of a vehicle very important. Many people choose the numbers based on numerology while other simply look for fancy numbers. Such unique numbers are often put up for auction by RTOs and highest bidder gets to take the number with him. We have featured stories about people paying over 30 lakhs just for a vehicle registration. This is not just a thing in India but, abroad as well. Here we have the story of a person from United Kingdom who spend a fortune on a vehicle registration plate that reads “F1”. How much did he spent? Well, GBP 13.76 million (Rs 132 crore).
In United Kingdom, the F1 registration plates have always been popular among vehicle owners. The number plate that is awarded for a limited duration has been spotted on many high-end performance cars like Mercedes-McLaren SLR and Bugatti Veyron. F1 number plate denotes Formula 1 and most car enthusiasts know it. It is one of the most desired motorsports event in the world. Why this F1 registration plate is so expensive is because unlike normal registrations, UK government does not allow any other digital or alphabets on the registration plate. This is one of the shortest registration number of a vehicle in the world.
The F1 number plate was originally owned by Essex City Council since 1904. This number was put on auction in 2008 for the first time. The number is currently with the owner of UK-based Kahn Designs, Afzal Khan. He bought the number for his Bugatti Veyron and paid around Rs 132 crores for the number. This is actually a lot more expensive the car itself. It should be noted that Bugatti Veyron by no means is a cheap vehicle to own.
A bit more into the history of this registration number, it was first sold at an auction for Rs 4 crores. With desirability of this number going up along with inflation, the cost of the number also increased. It increased exponentially and is currently one of the most expensive registration number for a vehicle in the world. This is not the first time we have seen people paying large amounts just for a registration number. In other parts of the world similar instances have been reported. For example in Abu Dhabi, an Indian businessman bought a registration number that reads “D5”. It is not as expensive as the F1 plate but he still paid around Rs 67 crores. Another Abu Dhabi-based businessman bought the registration number having only “1” by paying Rs 66 crores.
There are several reasons why people pay so much for a registration number. As mentioned above, some pick lucky numbers and some go for registration number that matches with their astrological sign, birthday or some other factor. Then there are some people who simply like unique numbers and like to maintain a uniformity in the registration number for all their vehicles. India’s richest businessman Mukesh Ambani and family have a large collection of cars in their garage and many of them have fancy numbers. They have a large collection of luxury and sports cars in their garage.
