According to the Guinness Book of Records, the most expensive plate ‘1’, was sold to Emirati businessman Said Khouri in 2008 for a staggering 52.2 million dirhams, or the equivalent of $14.2 million.
The second most expensive plate, ‘5’ was also sold in Abu Dhabi for 25.2 million dirhams, or $6.86 million, during a special number-plate auction organized by the Emirates Auction Company in 2007. In total, 72 specialized plates were sold on Saturday for a total of 50 million dirhams.
“I think it’s a matter of recognition,” said Muhammad Kashif, owner of the UAE Number Plates Company. “Just having a Ferrari isn’t much these days. People want a nice number to go with the car. It makes them just that much more popular than the other Ferrari drivers.”
Kashif said that the trend for personalized and distinctive number plates is so popular in the Emirates that those with a flare for the fanciful and a few dollars to spare will settle for something unique, if a little less glamorous.
As number plates in the UAE come by default with five digits, the fewer digits on the plate, the higher the price. A number plate with four digits can cost around 5,000 dirhams, ($1,300) but prices are pushed up for numbers that are memorable, in sequence (‘4567’) or all identical (‘4444’).
