Million rand rides

Sandton City’s South Tower was abuzz with car enthusiasts on 22 November.

Big ticket items such as single digit Gauteng number plates were being sold to the highest bidder, including Springbok legend Joost van der Westhuizen’s personal number plate, 9 GP.

Describing the collection (1 GP to 9 GP) as ‘South Africa’s most valuable number plates’, auction house Stephan Welz & Co estimated that Van der Westhuizen’s number plate, bearing the same number as his No 9 rugby jersey, would attract bids of between R120 000 and R150 000 if sold on its own.

“Joost can no longer drive his car, so when we heard about the auction we decided to offer his number plate,” said his brother, Peter van der Westhuizen. “We’re hoping for a high price, which will really help him.”

Stephan Welz & Co originally planned to auction a set of eight plates (1 GP to 8 GP) with an estimated value of at least R2 million. However, as news of the sale spread, the legendary scrumhalf decided to include his 9 GP number plate in the auction, raising the estimated price of the complete collection to R2.5 million.

The number plates 1 GP to 8 GP sold for a total of R1.6 million, while Van der Westhuizen’s 9 GP sold for R170 000.

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Also on sale were a number of exotic sports cars such as a 1959 soft-top Chevrolet Corvette, a 1965 Ford Mustang Convertible, and a classic 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL Pagoda with an estimated value of between R1 800 000 and R2 500 00.

The Mercedes-Benz sold for an astonishing R1.6 million, and while some of the other cars did not reach reserve, some bidders managed to scoop up some fantastic deals, with a Cobra race car selling for only R200 000.

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