For motorists looking to make a statement, there are few more popular ways than splashing out on a ludicrously expensive number plate.
For some it's an opportunity to display their own or family members' names or initials, make jokes and promote their business.
To others - namely those with extremely deep pockets - they’re luxury purchases to showcase their wealth, in the same way as rare artwork, fine wines and exclusive time pieces are a reflection of their success and status.
Of course, there's also a section of the motoring public who see rare number plates as a complete waste of money. We'll leave it to you to decide which of the three camps you class yourself in.
But there's one number plate about to be presented at auction that could eclipse every UK registration before it.
With a guide price of £800,000 to £1.2million when the hammer drops at a classic car sale in the capital next month, it could double the current record price paid for a UK plate to date.
The registration number '1F' will be offered by RM Sotheby's to the highest bidder on 1 November as part of its London sale.
The estimate is so steep that it's equivalent to the average house price in London's trendy Camden and prestigious Fulham.
And if it sells for a sum towards the higher end of the auction house's guide figure, it will be twice the price of the existing UK record holder, which stands at almost £520,000.
'1F' was first registered to a vehicle in the Essex area in 1957.
Sotheby's says it has previously been applied to a number of exotic motors, most recently a £300,000 Ferrari 812 GTS.
It now represents an 'outstanding opportunity for collectors to give their car an instant identity,' the auction experts said.
Sholto Gilbertson, RM Sotheby's UK director of sales, told Daily Mail: 'The market’s fascination with exclusive, private registration plates continues unabated.
'With occasional exceptions, it is the general rule that the shortest, two-digit numbers command the strongest money, although the current UK auction world record is for a three-digit number.
'The registration number ‘1F’ has previously changed hands privately for a substantial sum, so there is a very high chance that it could set a new world auction price when the hammer drops on 1 November.'
Private plates a £2bn business
Given the recent rise in the popularity of private plates, the market is now estimated to be worth around £2billion - and has turned the most desirable plates into lucrative investment opportunities.
Specialists are plunging hundreds of thousands of pounds into the personalised plate market to get their hands on the most valuable combinations - often those featuring two initials and a number, which experts say are 'booming' right now.
In fact, one numberplate expert recently told This is Money and the Daily Mail that they are delivering higher returns than traditional investments like watches, jewellery and classic cars.
In the nineties, plates tended to go for between £2,000 and £10,000. However, the recent spike in demand has seen the same plates rise in value to around £50,000 today.
But those with just a single number and one letter - like 1F - are the most lucrative of all.
World's most expensive plate: Someone in Dubai paid £12MILLION...
Yet even if '1F' does make £1.2m, it will pale in comparison to the most expensive number plate ever sold worldwide.
The record amount was paid in 2023 when the P-7 plate - displayed simply as '7' - was sold in Dubai for an eye-watering 55million Dirham, which at the time equated to around £12million.
That was around £5million more than the previous record holder, which was registration '1' sold (also in Dubai) in 2008 for £7.2million to local businessman Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri, who has displayed it on his Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Mercedes G-Wagen.
Emirates Auction sold the '7' plate in April 2023 during the 'Most Noble Numbers' charity event - the winning bidder's identity has remained anonymous.
A COUNTDOWN OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE UK NUMBER PLATES
With the sale of '1F' taking place next month, here's a countdown of the 10 current most expensive number plates sold in the UK:
10. M1 - £331,500 (last sold in 2006)
The 'M1' registrations was purchased in June 2006 and is currently displayed on a Bentley.
Having sold almost 20 years ago, the value of the plate has reportedly increased to around £1million today, making this a very tidy investment indeed.
9. 1S - £340,000 (last sold in 2010)
Another two-digit plate with a six-figure sale price is '1S', which was first publicly bought in March 2010.
It was instantly registered to a Rolls-Royce Phantom limo, which coincidentally would have had a similar starting price as the plate. But the plate value has likely doubled since, while the Phantom will have ultimately dramatically gone down in price. '1S' isn't currently registered on a vehicle.
8. 1D - £352,111 (last sold in 2009)
Given that One Direction formed a year after this sold, there's no chance Harry Styles or any of the other boy band members snapped this one up.
'1D' was sold in June 2009 for a whopping £352,411 but is worth well over half a million today.
7. S1 - £404,603 (last sold in 2008)
For those born north of the border, the 'S1' plate has immense heritage. Issued in 1903, it was Scotland's first number plate.
Lord Kingsburgh, one of the first people in Scotland to own a car, acquired the plate and it remained in his esteemed family for generations. However, the rare registration was most recently offered to collectors at auction in 2008, where it was bought for £404,603. Today, it is valued at seven figures.
6. SH 1 - £415,143 (last sold in April 2019)
The number plate 'SH 1' is one of the more recent registrations to be bought, having been offered at a an April 2019 DVLA auction.
It is currently registered to a Bentley Continental GT.
5. F1 - £440,625 (last sold in 2008)
Given the relation to the most famous motorsport category of all, 'F1' might arguably be the most desirable combination on this list.
It was bought in 2008 by car design company owner, Afzal Kahn - the London-based supercar turner who creates six-wheel Land Rover Defenders and modified Aston Martins.
The Kahn Design boss currently has it on his Bugatti Veyron and previous registered it to his Mercedes SLR. Before that, it was on a Volvo S80. If he were to sell it today, Kahn reckons he'd reject any offer below £10million - but says it isn't for sale.
4. RR 1 - £472,000 (last sold in 2018)
If there was a number plate destined for a luxurious motor, this is it. And, unsurprisingly, 'RR 1' is currently affixed to a Rolls-Royce Phantom.
It originally debuted in 1925 but last sold for a sturdy £472,000. Before then, it was bought in the 1960s for a mere £5,000. Another astute piece of business - and the current owner could expect to get half a million if they decided to part with it now.
3. G1 - £500,000 (last sold in 2012)
'G1' held the record as Britain's most expensive private plate for less than 12 months from 2012, before being pipped by just £2,500 by the number two plate in this list.
According to reports, the owner splurged on the registration having netted a £148million jackpot win in the Euromillions lottery. Since then, they've acquired a number of two-digit plates starting from 1 through to 9 combined with the letter 'G'.
Experts have estimated it to be valued today at £1million.
2. X1 - £502,500 (last sold in 2012)
This plate was snapped up in November 2012 for £502,500.
It is currently being used on a hybrid Mercedes, though has likely doubled in value in the last decade or so.
1. 25 O - £518,480 (last sold in 2014)
As it currently stands, '25 O' is the UK's priciest plate.
It went to the auction block in 2014 where the winning bidder - classic car dealer John Collins - paid a staggering £518,480. It has since been fitted to one of the most expensive cars ever sold at auction, a Jo Schlesser-raced Ferrari 250 GTO, which sold for £30,750,300.
DVLA records show it is now used on a LaFerrari hypercar.
