Nice One, Lewis

Formula 1 whizz-kid Lewis Hamilton reportedly splashed out £200,000 on a personalised car registration when he bought LEW 1S from a property tycoon.

We reckon it is a terrific choice. Many drivers would have been tempted to buy something to do with their sport - something perhaps like the famous F 1 plates bought by Afzal Kahn a while ago. Lewis wisely resisted that and focused on something really personal instead. If he should decide to retire at some point and maybe pursue a career as an actor or a singer (hey, stranger things have happened!) then a racing-orientated number would have lost its relevance to him.

With LEW 1S he should be a winner once again. Not only is it a visually striking name plate - vitually a perfect representation of the name - but it is a popular name, so the potential market for a future resale should be a decent size. Of course, we shouldn't ignore the appeal of a plate once owned by one of the UK's most exciting young drivers. That could also add to the value.

Yes, a very good choice, we think.

"Gonad" Number Plates to be Sold for Charity

Some time ago, we told you about Dave Cook and his "One Ball Rally" charity project. We are happy to say that Dave and his companions are now safely back in the UK. What is more, Dave has compiled a short video featuring some of the highlights of his journey.

For those of you who haven't heard about the One Ball Rally...

Dave Cook is a 24 year old man who was treated for testicular and stomach cancer in 2007. Dave underwent "9 weeks of Hell, a.k.a chemotherapy". But as he says, "For all its evils, this treatment surely does the trick". Happily, He is now clear of the illness and has regular checks to make sure that is how things stay.

Dave wanted to do something to raise money for the oncology services who helped him during his difficult time, and he came up with the idea of a charity journey through Europe. As part of his treatment had involved the removal of a testicle, Dave thought the concept of the One Ball Rally would be appropriate. He arranged a vehicle, an old London black cab, and decided on a route.

Regtransfers.co.uk donated a number plate to be used on the rally vehicle and Dave thought X60 NAD ("ex-gonad") was an amusing choice. Unfortunately, it turned out that the cab they ended up with was too old to be legally allowed to display that number, so another registration had to be used during the journey. X60 NAD will still contribute though, as Dave says he will sell it to help with the fundraising.

On the subject of the fundraising, it is not too late to contribute to this good cause. If you'd like to boost Dave's total please visit the One Ball Blog at http://oneballrally.blogspot.com/, or go straight to the online donation facility at http://www.justgiving.com/oneballrally.

Private Number Plates: the Finishing Touch!

Regtransfers.co.uk teamed up with the exclusive Segrave Club for a photo shoot the other day. Their fantastic cars donned some of our best private number plates and posed for the camera.

We think you'll agree that these cars simply beg for something a bit more individual than the soulless, random string of numbers and letters of a standard car registration. If you drove one of these babies you'd so want it to be competely unique, wouldn't you? And you hardly buy a car like one of those shown below if you were shy about being noticed, eh?

US Number Plates Censors Worse Than Ours!

We have posted previously about censorship of number plates practiced by certain American authorities. We have also had a gentle dig at our friends from the DVLA when they have withheld certain sequences of characters from the normal issue series of registrations, supposedly because such sequences of characters might resemble offensive words etc.

Well, here's another example of personal number plates censorship from the USA. In Nevada a complaint was files against the car registration SEXRXRR. The complaint claimed that the number represented "sex, drugs and rock & roll". The committee responsible for ensuring that number plates don't warp the fragile personalities of Nevada's citizens agreed with the complainant and withdrew the registration from use.

SEXRXRR... "Sex, drugs and rock & roll"? Hang on, maybe if I narrow my eyes and kind of squint sideways... Nope, it still looks nothing like it.

Strewth, at least the DVLA number plates censor pick numbers that vaguely resemble the word. Very vaguely sometimes...

SEXRXRR? Nah.

Search for Legendary A 1 Private Number Plates

Many of you will be familiar with at least part of the history of A 1, probably the "holy Grail" of UK private number plates. The story goes that this London number was issued in 1903 to Earl Russell, who displayed it on a Napier motor car. Several books and internet pages have documented various versions of the registration's subsequent history, chronicling its movements between a series of private and corporate owners, and ending with its reported sale to a member of a foreign royal family in 2005. The widely circulated tale tells that A 1 was assigned to a white Bentley for the use of its royal owner, however current data indicates that A 1 now resides upon a Black Mini Cooper.

Over the past few years, Regtransfers has been approached by many journalists and members of the public requesting firm confirmation of the status of A 1. Some of these people have been interested in the possibility of the mark ever coming onto the market again, while the media have often wanted to include A 1 in various articles about car registrations.

The recent low profile of A 1 has contributed to a certain sense of mystery regarding its current situation. Enterprising plate-watchers who have kept tabs on the number have been surprised by its apparent transfer to a Mini: a nice enough car, but perhaps not what one would expect to find kitted out with the UK's ultimate distinguished registration.

Clearly, many people would dearly love to know for sure where A 1 is, who now owns it, if it will ever be sold again, why it is assigned to a Mini and whether or not the bearer vehicle is in daily use so they might have a chance of spotting this superstar plate. Regtransfers is trying to find a way to contact the current owner, or their representative with a view to asking if we may have a little information which we can share with the UK's personal number plates enthusiasts.

Any contact would, of course, be conducted with total respect for the privacy of the owner. That said, we really would be delighted if we could get just a little more information to bring the history of A 1 firmly and accurately up to date.

Regtransfers is offering a cash bounty to anyone who provides information leading to successful, confirmed contact with the current owner. Again, we emphasise that the owner’s privacy will be fully respected.

Anyone with information is invited to contact Regtransfers.co.uk at a1@regtransfers.co.uk, or to call 01582 470089.