Licence to run: Perfect plate for athletes is up for grabs
Calling all athletes … you could soon own a unique piece of auto memorabilia – but it won’t come cheap.
Stride & Son Auctioneers and Valuers of Chichester will offer the registration plate I RUN in their forthcoming auction of automobilia. It comes from the estate of a local gentleman, who was a very keen runner, having completed 50 marathons and raising more than £70,000 for many various charities.
He purchased the plate in 1993 from the DVLA.
Although the plate is actually 1 RUN – it begins with the number one – it looks like an ‘I’ to make it an accurate statement for any athlete.
Members of Chichester Runners & AC got a close-up look at the plate at a recent training session to help Stride & Son publicise it.
A spokesman at Stride & Son said: “This represents a once in a generation opportunity to purchase such a wonderful piece of automotive memorabilia, although the beauty of this example is that it has crossover appeal - it does not just appeal to ‘petrolheads’.
"The buyer is just as likely to be a keen runner themselves, perhaps he or she will be a household name who is keen to make their car stand out."
In addition to be an eye-catching status symbol, it could prove to be a wise long-term investment, for the market for personalised plates has soared over recent decades.
The DVLA tightly controls the release of certain number and letter combinations, making plates such as this extremely rare.
Many buyers will pay a significant premium for plates that have a personal significance. A collector is recently reported to have paid more than £2m for ‘VIP 1’ formerly belonging to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
The I RUN registration, currently held on a DVLA V778 retention certificate, will be offered for sale on Wednesday, July 23. It carries a pre-sale auction estimate of £12,000 to £16,000.
It has already stimulated plenty of interest and the auctioneers think the buyer will certainly have to ‘go the distance’ to win the bidding battle that is likely to ensue.
Anyone interested can contact Stride and Son on 01243 780207 or email [email protected]