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In the biggest shake-up to the state’s registration rules in decades, Victorian number plates will soon be able to feature an extra character.
Seven-character plates will be on sale for the first time at a “premium auction” in May, where 12 prestigious combinations will be up for grabs. Among the options are 1111111 and AAAAAAA, as well as luxury car brands FERRARI, PORSCHE and MCLAREN, which all conveniently have seven letters.
There will also be a winner’s choice plate available, allowing the highest bidder to select their own seven characters. The changes will eventually expand to the public market at a date yet to be confirmed.
Hannah Fox’s family has a long history of collecting number plates that began when her grandfather, billionaire trucking magnate Lindsay Fox, emblazoned his initials on a plate more than 60 years ago.
“For my 18th birthday, I got my initials and my birth year … It’s created a bit of a tradition for the family, everyone kind of has their own little spin on it,” said Fox, who works with the Linfox company’s Fox Classic Car Collection museum in Docklands.
Of the 12 seven-character plates that will be auctioned next month, Fox has her eye on 8888888 (eight is the family’s lucky number), or would choose CLASSIC as a winner’s choice option.
Victoria’s first seven character number plates
- 1111111
- AAAAAAA
- MCLAREN
- 1234567
- 6666666
- PORSCHE
- 7654321
- XXXXXXX
- 9999999
- 8888888
- FERRARI
- Winner’s Choice
“It’s bringing in a huge new range of combinations and possibilities,” she said.
“It’s probably going to make collecting a bit more accessible … It will be interesting to see what this release of plates will mean in the next 30 or 40 years.”
VicRoads chief executive Giles Thompson said that the new plates were highly sought-after combinations that would pique the interest of eager collectors – particularly given such a major change to the system hasn’t happened in living memory.
“Everyone knows the historical combinations that they would have loved, and now’s a chance to get the future combinations,” Thompson said. “Once FERRARI is gone, it’s gone.”
There is already an expensive market for luxury number plates. The handful of single-digit plates are regarded the most desirable, and are generally priced in the millions.
The #1 plate is owned by businessman Peter Bartels, and some estimate it to be worth upwards of $10 million. Lindsay Fox was present at its auction, but chose not to outbid his friend Bartels, according to his granddaughter.
Heritage Only auction house will facilitate the upcoming sales. Owner Ramy Attia said he expected next month’s auction to be dominated by self-made entrepreneurs and successful business owners who were looking to make a statement.
“They have already bought everything,” Attia said. “They have the cars, they have the watches, they have the trophy homes.”
He said that a rare custom number plate was “like the Rolex for the car”.
The unprecedented nature of the new seven character plates means it’s impossible to estimate their value. But Attia is no stranger to eye-watering sales. Eighteen months ago, his company facilitated the sale of plate #24 for just under $2 million.
“Whoever buys these plates, there’s a good chance where you won’t see them transacting in our lifetime … [it] will just get passed down within the family for generations to come,” he said.
So what if you’re keen to get your hands on a seven-character plate of your own? Unless you have a small fortune to spare at auction, don’t hold your breath. A public release is unlikely to happen before the end of the year, as internal logistics still need to be sorted.
But the change will boost the maximum number of vehicles that can be registered within the state. Car ownership rates across the country are increasing, with many communities reliant on them as a method of transport.
“I don’t think we’re close to a [registration] issue with six digits, but … once you get to a seventh, then that becomes a non-issue,” Thompson from VicRoads said.
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