A rose by any other name would smell as sweet but apparently classic Ferrari owners do not adhere to the famous Juliet’s line from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
In fact, they are prepared to pay loads of money not just for their cars but for a personalized plate to go with them. Because, you know, you can’t drive around in a Ferrari worth a million or 10 with a plain-Jane number plate. That would be akin to wearing sneakers with a bespoke Saville Row suit – a crime against humanity, if ever there was one.
Last Friday, the UK’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, aka DVLA, held one of its half-a-dozen-per-year auctions, which was its 150th live sale and also happened to make history for the most expensive license plate ever auctioned.
The distinction belongs to 25 O, which was bought by John Collins, owner of Talacrest and one of the world’s most renown dealers of classic Ferraris, for no less than £518,000, or a mind-boggling US$815,000! What’s more, Mr. Collins had earlier bought 250L for the low, low price of £130,320 (US$205,000).
The first plate will adorn a Ferrari 250 SWB once owned by Eric Clapton, while the second will be fitted to a rare 1964 250 Lusso.
“I was just determined to own them, it was just a case of how much I was going to pay for the privilege”, said Collins. When asked how high he was willing to bid, he replied: “I’m not too sure, it could possibly have been the first £1 million personalized registration!”
In the rarefied stratosphere where exclusive car collectors live, 250 GTOs go for around US$40 million or more, thus adding such a rare license plate may increase the car’s value and actually be very savvy business.