What is The Most Expensive Number Plate Sold?

You don’t have to be rich to own a personalised or private number plate and you can add a personal touch to your car from as little as £65. However, some highly sought after registration numbers have changed hands for mind-boggling sums of money. Here are some of the most expensive plates sold in the UK.

The 10 most expensive number plates in the UK

These ten numbers sold for staggering amounts, but they would fetch even more if they were auctioned today.

25 O £518,480

At auction in November 2014, the registration number 25 O became the UK’s most expensive personalised car registrations when it sold for £400,000. With VAT and auctioneer’s fees the total price paid was a whopping £518,480! The buyer was John Collins, a Ferrari specialist and classic car dealer who said he would have paid £1 million if needs be to secure the plate. John is passionate about classic Ferrari's particularly the iconic 1960's '250' and he was determined to get the matching car registration number plate at any cost.

The cost of the plate is dwarfed by the value of the car. A 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO sold at auction for over £52 million to become the world’s most expensive car. Another 250 GTO held second place having gone under the hammer for £30,750,300.

X 1 £502,500

Coming in at as the second most expensive is the X 1 which fetched £502,500 in November 2012. Roman Numerals XI = 11. While not much is known about the plate’s owner, DVLA records show it as being currently attached to a Mercedes CLA bought within the last three years. If this car registration plate were to be sold at auction today, estimates suggest it would go for a seven-figure sum. Perhaps if you own a BMW X1, you could be tempted?

G 1 £500,000

Next in at #3 on the most expensive reg plate is G 1. In the year before X 1 became the record holder, G 1 held the top spot. It sold for £500.000 in September 2011. The owner is now reportedly a female Euromillions winner. According to estimates the owner could more than double their money if they sold the car registration today. The plate is not currently in use but has been on Audi and Mercedes-Benz vehicles in recent years.

RR 1 £472,000

Could there be a better car reg for a Rolls Royce than one with “RR”? RR 1, currently registered to a Rolls-Royce Phantom, was purchased for £472,000 in September 2018. The last time the plate, originally issued in 1925, changed hands was in the 1960s when it sold for £5,000.

The reverse twin '1 RR' was sold by CarReg to a Luxury chauffeuring business based in London back in 2007 for around £200k and is estimated to have doubled in value over the past 15 years.

F 1 £440,625

But of course the world of F1 Racing would have a car reg on the list of most expensive plates! For motor racing fans, F 1 is the number #1 plate they’d like to get their hands on. It was sold to businessman Afzal Khan in 2008 (founder of Kahn Design, a British-based company based in Bradford and London that specialises in the modification of motor vehicles) for a whopping £440,625 after it was auctioned by Bonhams at the prestigious Goodwood Festival of Speed. The mark has since been displayed on a Bugatti Veyron, which is a considerable step up from the Volvo S80 it was previously registered to! While the number plate is not currently on the market, Mr Khan said that he would consider offers in excess of £10 million.

S 1 £404,063

First issued in 1903, the historic S 1 was the first plate to be registered in Edinburgh. It was owned by Lord Kingsburgh, one of Scotland’s first car buyers, and it remained in his family for many generations. It was eventually sold to an anonymous buyer in 2008 for £404,063. It proved to be a shrewd investment as it has been valued at over £1.5 million. And though this plate is #6 on the Most Expensive Plate list, this car registration number is not currently in use.

1 D £352,411

In June 2009, 1 D was sold at a DVLA auction for £352,411, which at the time could have bought you a Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé. Its estimated value today is £500,000-£1,000,000, more than double the starting price of the Black Bentley Bentayga that the plate is currently attached to (since 2016).

1 S £340,000

In March 2010, 1 S was purchased for £340,000. But because this car reg number is not currently registered to a vehicle, not much else is known about the use or history on the #8 most expensive plate. However, it has been reported that this registration number is estimated that like others in these Top 10 listings to have more than doubled in value.

M 1 £331,580

One of the earliest contenders for the most expensive number is M 1, which in June 2006 was sold for a then record of £331,500. The M1 road was Britain's first full-length motorway and opened in 1959 which connects the UK Capital with the City of Leeds in the North and of course numerous other towns and cities inbetween. The rare plate is registered to a Bentley Flying Spur but, if it were to go to auction today, its estimated value is a cool £1 million.

GB 1 £325,000

For a patriotic Brit, GB 1 must be the most sought-after registration number. In November 2009 the plate went to a private buyer for £325,000. Currently being displayed on a Rolls-Royce Phantom, the number has been valued in excess of £500,000.

Your budget doesn’t have to stretch to the prices that these plates sold in order to have a unique, personalised number plate. Browse car reg database and find something fitting to your personal tastes!

If your budget doesn’t quite stretch to the prices that these numbers sold for, take a look at the ways to buy more affordable number plates at CarReg.

About CarReg.co.uk

For those asking about the most expensive number plate in the UK, you’ve come to the right place - we are car reg plate aficionados! CarReg is a DVLA Recognised Reseller, a family owned business with over 30 years experience and we are one of the UK’s leading agents buying and selling private number plates. We have vast experience with even the most unusual cases, and are confident that you will find our service friendly, fair and agreeable.