The top ten most expensive number plates

By Classic Yorkshire correspondent Tony Lofthouse

It’s seems there is no end to the mind-boggling sums private number plates are making. Sadly, the cost is outstripping the value of the cars they come with.

Specialist sellers, CarReg, have compiled the top-priced registration plates in the UK. Here’s their ‘top ten’ starting with the most expensive.

25 O 

In 2014 a private buyer paid an eye-watering £518,480 (after auction costs) for the plate 25 O. Fittingly, the plate was for his Ferrari 250 GTO!

X I 

Coming a close second is the plate X 1 which made £502,500 in 2012. If it was to be sold today, estimates suggest it would reach a seven-figure sum.

G I 

The owner of this plate is reportedly a lottery winner and paid £500,000 in 2011. It has been seen on Audi and Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

RR I

Not surprisingly, the plate RR 1, costing £472,000 in 2018, is registered to the owner of a Rolls Royce Phantom.

F I 

For motoring fans,  F 1 is a dream plate. Interestingly, the owner is Bradford businessman, Afzal. Khan, who splashed out £440,000 in 2008 to display F 1 on his Bugatti Veyron.

S I 

First issued in 1903, the S 1 plate was purchased by an anonymous buyer in 2008 for £404,000.

I D 

A year later, 1 D plate was sold at a DVLA auction for £352,000 and is believed to be displayed on a Bentley Bentayga.

I S

In 2010, 1 S  was bought for £340,000 but is not currently registered to a vehicle.

M I 

If you like your motorways, the M 1 is surely the ‘must have’ plate for you. Costing £331,500 in 2006 it is currently fitted to a Bentley Flying Spur.

GB I 

Coming in tenth in the ‘top ten’ is GB 1. A private buyer paid £325,000 in 2009 and this ‘patriotic’ plate is attached to a Rolls Royce Phantom.

For canny investors the magic number ‘1’ on a plate is a big attraction, but if your budget is a little more modest it pays to browse the DVLA search site: https://dvlaregistrations.dvla.gov.uk/ where personalised registrations can be yours for a couple of hundred pounds. You can also try other specialist sellers, such as CarReg or Regtransfers and others.