Johannesburg - If you’re determined to own the licence plate SOWETO 1 GP, there is only one way to get it: and that’s to get out your wallet and dish out R1 million at an auction next week.
The unique licence registration plate, which includes the copyright of the name, will be auctioned together with a 1950s Morris Minor 1000 car.
The licence plate alone is expected to be sold for between R800 000 and R1 million. With the car, the price is expected to reach R1.1 million.
Jack Rosewitz, a car specialist at Stephan Welz & Co, said private number plates with the number 1 usually belonged to mayoral cars, “so it’s extremely unusual” for private individuals to own that registration, particularly accompanied by a trademark.
He said the plates were highly collectable, and in the UK, licence plates with low or unusual numbers could go for between £200 000 (R3.4 million) and £300 000 (R5.1 million).
In 2012 they sold the plates F1 GP for more than R1 million.
‘POTENTIALLY WORTH MILLIONS’
“The trademark alone has unlimited commercial applications within the entertainment industry, and is potentially worth millions,” said Rosewitz.
“It could be used for hotels, restaurants, clubs or other businesses within that industry.”
The car and plates were bought three years ago by Benoni resident Ganas Soobiah. He worked in Soweto as an electrician during the 1970s through to the 1990s.
He said his daughter, an Aids medical researcher who was killed in a car accident, had inspired him to buy the plates.
At first he didn’t find it easy to get the traffic department to issue them, but when he said they were in honour of his daughter, the official said that after what he had been through, he deserved them.
Other items that will be up for sale at the auction are a Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 Tourer, which is valued at R950 000 to R1.6 million, other collectable cars, paintings, and an electric guitar signed by some of the members of the band The Doors.
The Stephan Welz & Co auction will take place on 25 and 26 November on the fourth floor of the South Tower, Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton.
The Star