A Car With No Number Plate Displayed

Every tech enthusiast knows what Steve Jobs' favourite outfit was especially for launching a product. Besides his signature black turtleneck, New Balance sneakers, and blue jeans, the Apple founder also had a silver Mercedes SL55 AMG.

Jobs drove his SL55 AMG without a registration number and how he managed to do that without breaking the law is pure genius. Like his company's slogan, Jobs also thinks different and discovered a legal way to drive without the number plate.

Jobs' SL55 AMG was snapped many times, but the car was always registration plate free. Everyone will be now wondering how he managed to do it? Or as a famous person did he obtain a special permit?

The process of getting your hands on a fancy registration number has been tweaked to allow online payments, a move that will spell respite for new vehicle owners in the Capital.

The Transport Department has decided to do away with the current system of depositing a draft after completion of the e-auction process, following which the allotment letter will be sent to the applicant’s email id, an official said.

No more multiple rounds

At present, those applying for a fancy number have to apply through an e-auction system, which was introduced in 2014. After this, the applicant was required to deposit the fee for the allotted number through a draft at Regional Transport Offices (RTO), and in the process had to make rounds of the department.

“The move is intended to bring a transparency in issuing fancy numbers. As per the new system, an applicant can now make payments online through the Transport Department’s website. The practice will reduce human interface at the RTOs,” the official further said.

E-auctions

Last January, e-auction of fancy registration numbers for vehicles had fetched the Delhi government around ₹50 lakh, while the registration number “0001” was sold for ₹7.70 lakh. The registration number “0001”, with a minimum reserved price fixed of ₹5 lakh, is sold through e-auction.

So what are the top selling number plates in the UK? The DVLA has been selling private plates to UK motorists since 1989. During this time, there have been a number of records set, but most of the top 10 have been bought in the past 15 years. Here’s what currently makes the list:

25 0 – A Ferrari dealer bought this for £518k in 2014. It is now on a £10 million Ferrari 250 SWB.
F 1 – A businessman, Afzal Khan, bought this for £440k in 2008 and put it on his McLaren-Mercedes SLR.
S 1 – This was bought in 2008 for £404k by an anonymous buyer.
1 D – Businessman Nabil Bishara bought this plate in 2009 (before One Direction was formed, so it is not a reference to the band) for £352k.
M 1 – Businessman Mike McCoomb bought this number plate in 2006 for £331k, apparently for his son, who was 10 at the time.
VIP 1 – Chelsea owner and businessman Roman Abramovich bought this plate for £285k in 2006.
51 NGH – This number plate, which looks like the surname Singh, was sold in 2006 for £254k.
1 RH – Businessman Robert Haverson bought this in 2006 for £247k.
K1 NGS – This reg plate, which looks like the word “kings”, was bought anonymously in 1993 for £231k.
1 0 – This very simple but striking number plate was bought anonymously in 2009 for £170k.

These are large amounts of money, but they are all small compared to the top-selling number plates found in other parts of the world. Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, has the record for the most expensive number plate ever sold. That number plate was a simple “1”. It was bought in 2008 by businessman Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri for £7.25 million.

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