THE most expensive number plates have been revealed - including one that sold for more than £500,000 at an auction.

Some of us fancy buying a personalised number plate to stick on our vehicles and like to have to play around with the registration plates they can buy.

Car buyers registering their brand-new cars from Monday, March 1, will be able to get their hands on the latest number plates which include ‘21’, unless of course they go for a private plate.

Auto Trader say that despite the third national lockdown, consumers' confidence in being able to afford their next car has reached a peak, with many still looking to buy.

An onsite survey conducted in January showed confidence levels were at 8.68 out of 10, surpassing the previous peak recorded in December 2020 at 8.49 out of 10.

The very British phenomenon of personalising number plates doesn’t seem to be abating, with the prices of bespoke plates rocketing in recent years, and even hitting six figure sums.

Auto Trader, the UK’s largest digital marketplace for new and used cars, has collated a list of the 21 most expensive car number plates sold in the UK:

1) 25 0 (£518,480) - This was bought at auction by a Ferrari trader who put on his rare Ferrari 250 SWB that was previously owned by Eric Clapton. To date, this is the most expensive plate that has ever been sold by the DVLA.

2) X 1 (£502,500) - The original sale price for this was a staggering £1million, however someone got a 'steal', paying just half that amount in 2012.

3) G 1 (£500,000) - Adorned on an Aston Martin, this number plate was sold in 2011, making it the most expensive plate in the UK at the time.

4) RR 1 (£472,000) - Sold in 2018 to adorn a Rolls Royce, naturally, the plate 'RR1' was described as "one of the most special" registration plates in the world ahead of its sale at the Goodwood Revival.

5) F 1 (£440,625) - Widely recognised for the world's most popular racing sport, Formula 1, this plate is unlikely to ever leave the top ten of most expensive plates.

6) S 1 (£404,063) - This was the first ever number plate issued in Scotland. It was bought in 2008 and placed on a Skoda, making it 10 times more expensive than the car itself!

7) 1 D (£352,411) - This number plate was snapped up in 2009 by a property developer.

8) 1 S (£340,000) - In 2010 this private reg was bought and placed on a Rolls Royce Phantom. It's thought to have doubled in value since.

9) M 1 (£331,500) - Multimillionaire, Mike McComb snapped this up in 2006, purportedly for his son's 6th birthday.

10) GB 1 (£325,000) - Sold in 2009, this plate sits on a Rolls Royce, embracing its British heritage.

11) D 2 (£300,096)

12) VIP 1 (£285,000)

13) 1 BM (£285,000)

14) V 1 (£275,000)

15) S 5 (£270,300)

16) GN 1 (£260,146)

17) GS 1 (£258,775)

18) 51 NGH (£254,000)

19) 1 RH (£247,952)

20) MS 1 (£235,000)

21) MG 1 (£235,000)