العربية
UAE man pays Dhs18 m for number plate 1
June 6, 2016 | Timeout Dubai
A UAE man pays Dhs18 m for number plate 1, Time Out Dubai reports, with information on how and where to customize your Dubai registration plate.
In the land of glitz and glamour, finding a way to stand out from the crowd of millionaires isn’t easy (nope, we’re not talking from experience).
A diamond-encrusted Rolex or an exotic wild cat in the backseat of your car might just not cut it anymore.
If you’re truly looking to showcase your wealth and success, you have to go after something truly exclusive that others can’t copy with a quick swipe of a credit card.
That may have been Sharjah businessman Arif Ahmed al-Zarouini’s thinking when he decided to pay Dhs18m at an auction for the only ‘1’ number plate in the United Arab Emirates.
For those of you not that familiar with the value of the UAE dirham, that’s £3.4million or $4.9million or €4.3million.
Al-Zarouini’s bid was 18 times the reserve price and in a statement to Gulf News, he said: ”My ambition is always to be number one.”
You may be surprised to hear that that mind-blowing sum isn’t the highest that’s been paid in the UAE for the label of ‘numero uno’ to be slapped onto one’s car.
Back in 2008, an Abu Dhabi man paid an astronomical Dhs52.2 million for him to be the only one driving around in his Emirate with the exclusive registration plate.
Other sought-after registration plates at Saturday’s auction were 12, 22, 50, 100, 333, 777, 1000, 2016, 2020 and 99999.
In total, the event fetched Dhs50 million.
Those of you in Dubai who are looking to spend perhaps a tad less on customizing your number plates will be interested in knowing about the RTA’s (Road and Traffic Authority) recent campaign ‘Reflect Your Special Moments on Your Number Plate’.
The government body are offering residents a chance to choose five-digit vehicle plates of whatever date they want, be it birthdays, wedding dates or just a cool-looking number.
“These plates will be exclusively offered to the age group 18 to 35 [born from 1981 to 1998], as youth are the most passionate about events in their personal lives,” Sultan Al Marzouki, Director of Vehicles Licensing at RTA’s Licence Agency, was quoted as saying by Gulf News.
