Friday 7th July 2006

The numberplate, M1, fetched £331,500 at auction, setting a new world record for the highest price paid for a car registration. A mystery bidder from the North West bought the plate as a birthday present for his six-year-old son. Bonhams auctioned M1 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed sale in Chichester. The M1 plate was the first registration issued in Cheshire and was originally handed out in 1902. It has been on a rare 1900 Benz car kept at Tatton Park near Knutsford.