This Morris is no Minor

The car, which will be auctioned by Stephan Welz & Co on November 25, is valued at R880 000 – R1 100 000.

“In the UK, licence plates with low or unusual numbers are highly collectable and can go for £200 000 – £300 000 (R3.4 million – R5.1 million),” says Jack Rosewitz, Stephan Welz & Co car specialist. “Two years ago, we sold the plates ‘F1 GP’ for over

R1 million. Private number plates with the number one usually belong to mayoral cars, so it’s extremely unusual for an individual to own this registration, particularly accompanied with a trademark. The trademark has unlimited commercial applications in the entertainment industry and is potentially worth millions.”

The car was purchased three years ago by Benoni resident Ganas Soobiah, who gave it to his wife, the current owner. Soobiah worked in Soweto as an electrician on a number of large construction projects between the seventies and nineties.

Soobiah’s daughter – who was an HIV/Aids medical researcher before she was killed in a car accident – was the inspiration for the acquisition of the licence plates. According to Soobiah, the traffic department was so taken with his story that, even though these plates are normally only issued to mayors and premiers, the official told him: “After what you’ve been through, you deserve the plates.”

The Morris Minor 1 000 was one of the most popular British cars and is the last of the Minor series. “The car on its own is very collectable, and this particular one is genuine, with its original patina and paint,” says Rosewitz.

A trio of Rolls-Royces

The Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 Tourer is a highly collectable car. In South Africa there are fewer than five models in the body shape of the 1925 model, one of which has the personal plates “RR 1925 GP” and will be auctioned on November 25.

The car is a three-position DHC coupé bodied in Holland as an all- weather tourer, and rebodied in the thirties as a Southern Body. It was so unusual Rolls-Royce displayed it on its stand at an Amsterdam auto show.

Its first owner, OFS Weise, came to South Africa in 1945, and the car was apparently never on the road and therefore had no rust, according to Rosewitz.

“The car has been given an estimate of R950 000 – R1.6 million, but it is worth at least double.”

Also for sale are two other Rolls-Royces: a 1979 Shadow II and 1984 Silver Spirit.