On February 16, officials from the Guinness Book of World Records will be in Abu Dhabi to witness the auction of exclusive number plates including the most elusive and sought after of all: an Abu Dhabi number 1.
“Number 1 may break our own world record as the most expensive number plate”, said Lieutenant Colonel Abdul Rahman M. Ali Al Kamali, director of administration of privatisation and financial investments at the Ministry of Interior.
“We think it may fetch more than number 5 which sold for Dhs25.2 million,” he added in an interview with UAE daily Gulf News.
Number plates in the UAE bestow upon their owners their present rank in society – Ruler: number 1; immediate family: single digits; senior government officials: two digits; private company CEOs: three digits; journalists: 5698724.
Small wonder then that they attract such extraordinary value. The status of being labelled one of the top 200 individuals in the UAE is worth a great deal in UAE society and business.
But can it really be worth Dhs25 million or more? Surely a small proportion of this price can be put down as a business expense. The rest is pure vanity.
A clue to value can be found in other countries. In the UK, the record for the most expensive number plate ever sold was broken this week when an anonymous buyer paid £375,000 (Dhs2.73 million) for the plate ‘F1' (Bernie Ecclestone, perhaps?).
It seems that the British refuse to pay more for a number plate than they could spend on even the most expensive, customised Bentley or Rolls Royce on which to attach it.
There is clearly no such ceiling among the super rich of the UAE.
Maybe it is the fact that UAE number plates use only numbers – creating the rank in society league table effect – while UK plates have to use letters and numbers.
Or maybe it is because cars in the UAE spend so much time in traffic jams, the value of their exterior fixtures is higher because people spend more time looking enviously at them.
Whatever the reason, the regular number plate sales make fascinating viewing. And we look forward to bringing you live coverage of the Abu Dhabi sale on February 16.
