6 O rounds off successful auction programme

The last of this year's DVLA auctions of personalised registrations reached a spectacular finale last week when the number 6 O topped the £100k mark.

The new owner, 24-year-old Ghanim al-Hadaifi, is by no means new to the game. He has already purchased both its predecessors, 4 0 and 5 0, for £63k and £88k respectively, at earlier events. This latest acquisition is reported to be a gift for the Qatari royal family. A spokesman for al-Hadaifi said, "Money is not really an issue, he just wants the best registrations he can have for his cars. He already has his sights set on numerous others, which we hope will be auctioned next year."

The series of 'O' registrations, 1 to 6, offered individually this year brought some interesting results. As you would expect, the flagship 1 O attracted the highest price of £210K, making it the 10th most expensive UK plate of all time (a record still topped by F 1 at £441k).

Statistically, Mr al-Hadaifi may have paid slightly over the odds for his trio of 'O' plates, each of which cost more than the '3' and '4' versions. This apparent anomaly may, however, be explained by the aesthetically pleasing similarities between 5 0 and 6 0 and the words 'So' and 'Go'.

Earlier in the auction, the 'Ferrari' plate 458 FER went for a total of over £21k and a clutch of great 'number ones, 1 EHS, 1 WRM and 1 OMG cost their respective purchasers an average of about £17k a piece.

The event, at Tankersley Manor, Barnsley, was staged over three days and raised a total of over £4m for the treasury, who benefit not only from the hammer price itself but also from the VAT and the eventual transfer fee generated when the registration is assigned to a vehicle.

A number of prestigious venues have already been announced for the 2010 round of auctions, including one at Manchester United Football Club in March.

Record Breakers and High Fliers

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