7 Most Expensive Number Plates In India, Some Cost Most Than A Car
Having the car of your dreams aside, most of us take whatever registration number we get with it. Some others don't mind paying a fortune for it. The craze to buy fancy numbers in India has been on the rise. Car owners have paid unbelievably high amounts for their favourite set of numbers.?
Earlier we talked about the?most expensive number plates from around the world, and, today, we're going to focus on Indians who have spent lakhs to buy fancy numbers for their luxury vehicles. Take a look:
Toyota Fortuner - 007 - Rs 34 Lakh
The James Bond franchise created many records itself but there is one big fan of the movie in India and his love for the character is beyond anything. In 2020, Ahmedabad-based transporter, Ashik Patel bought a new SUV for Rs 39.5 lakh but you will be surprised to know that he paid extra Rs 34 lakh for its number plate only. Yes, you read that right Ashik was granted vehicle registration number GJ01WA007 for his Toyota Fortuner, and for his love for James Bond, he paid the highest amount during the online bidding.
¡°I got 007 number for my maiden vehicle and it has brought a windfall for me. For me it is not about money, it is about a belief that this number is lucky for me,¡± Patel told TOI.
It is reported that the bidding for this specific number started at 25,000 and Ashik was the first to submit a bid of Rs 34 lakhs just as the deadline was about to pass. He has been awarded vehicle registration number GJ01WA007 for his car!?
Porsche 718 Boxster - '1' - Rs 31 Lakh
K S Balagopal, a resident of Kowdiar, Thiruvananthapuram is a proprietor of Devi Pharma, a leading pharmaceuticals distribution company had paid a fortune to get a fancy registration number for his blue Porsche 718 Boxster worth Rs 1 crore. In 2019, Balagopal won the registration number ¡®KL-01-CK-1¡¯, for his brand-new Miami Blue sports car by paying Rs 30 lakh in the auction held at the regional transport office (RTO), Thiruvananthapuram. Balagopal engaged in a fiery bid against NRI businessman Shine Yousef who quit after quoting Rs 25,00,500 as Balagopal hiked the next call to Rs 30 lakh.?
Toyota Land Cruiser LC200 - 001 - Rs 18 lakh
K S Balagopal's name is on the list once again since he ¡®won¡¯ the number '1' at a whopping Rs 19 lakh for his LC200 Land Cruiser in 2017. Including Balagopal three other car owners, Abdul Karim,? W. Renju Kumar, and Subhagar Vasudevan participated in the auction for registration number KL-01-CB-1. Subhagar bid up to Rs 10,02,000, Abdul Karim only Rs 3,00,000. Sources said that after Subhagar quoted Rs 10.02 lakh, Balagopal quoted Rs 12 lakh. Though no one else quoted a higher amount, Balagopal himself raised the amount to Rs 18 lakh, setting a new record. With the initial booking amount of Rs 1? lakh, the MVD received Rs. 19 lakh from Mr. Balagopal. With this, Mr Balagopal becomes the owner of two of India's most expensive registration plates.
Toyota Land Cruiser LC200 - 0001 - Rs 17 Lakh
In 2012, Jagjit Singh Chahal, owner of Chahal tyres in Chandigarh won a registration number CH-01AN-0001 for a whopping Rs 17 lakh for his Toyota Land Cruiser LC200 worth an estimated Rs 1 crore, the highest ever amount for a new series number in the history of Chandigarh. The auction for the new series was conducted by the Registration and Licensing Authority (RLA).
Talking to HT, Chahal, who originally hails from Romana Chak village in district Amritsar, said that he owned a fleet of 10 cars, including Hyundai Terracan, Toyota Fortuner and Honda CRV, all with registration number '0001' of different series.
"Today's amount is the highest ever I have paid for this number. Till today, the highest amount was Rs 4.70 lakh, which I had paid to get '0001' for my new Hyundai Terracan. The number was purchased from Ludhiana registration authorities.
If one goes by his claims, he also owns around 10 motorcycles, all with registration number 1000 in different series. "Boys working in my firm use these bikes for official purposes," said Chahal, whose mobile number also ends with 00001. "I could have spent even Rs 20 lakh to purchase this number," he added.
Jaguar XJ - '001' - Rs 16 lakh
Rahul Taneja is an owner of a wedding management company called Live Creations who at an early age worked in a Dhaba for a few bucks and came into the headlines in 2018 when he purchased Rs 16 lakh?number plate RJ45 CG 001 for his brand new Rs 1.5 crore car. This was not the first incident though, with Rahul having bought a VIP 0001 number plate worth Rs 10 lakhs for his BMW in 2011. According to transport officials, the Rs 16 lakhs number plate RJ45 CG 001 was the most expensive number plate in the country at that time, and before that Rs 11 lakh was the highest amount paid for a vehicle number plate.
The number 001 that brings Rahul into the limelight also has a? unique story. Actually, Rahul is attached to number one. Apart from buying number one number plates for his vehicles, his cell phone number also has the digit 1 seven times out of ten. The numbers of all his cars are also in the same digit.
Rolls-Royce Cullinan - "0001" - Rs 12 lakh
When we talk about luxury, how can we forget Indian business tycoon Mukesh Ambani who recently bought an ultra-luxury Rolls Royce hatchback costing Rs 13.14 crore which is believed to be one of the most expensive car purchases ever in the country. But the interesting part is that he has also paid Rs 12 lakh for a VIP number ending with "0001". The chief of India's Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani has bought the priceless and ultra-premium car Rolls Royce Cullinan and this will be a third Cullinan model in Ambani's garage. There are speculations that due to personal customization, its price has increased. According to the report, Ambani has bought a 'Tuscan Sun' colour car for the 12-cylinder car weighing over 2.5 tonnes. It generates a power of 564 bhp.
RTO officials said that a special number plate has also been obtained for this car at a cost of Rs 12 lakh. RTO officials say that the car ends with the number '0001' on the plate. And since the current series has already been taken for this number, a new series was introduced. Also, the registration for this luxury SUV is valid till January 30, 2037, for which a one-time tax of Rs 20 lakh has been paid by RIL. Apart from this, another amount of Rs 40,000 has been paid towards road safety tax.
BMW 5-Series - '1' - Rs 10.31 lakh
Rahul Taneja is known for his strong belief in numerology and hence considers the number 1 to be good for him. That is why he paid Rs 10.31 lakh for the registration of his BMW 5-Series although later he sold out the car but kept the number plate which is now used for his 7-series.
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