Practice of reserving specific registration numbers has been prevalent in India for a very long time among wealthy enthusiasts
The character of James Bond has lots of admirers around the globe and over the years the fictitious spy has been able to enthral everyone through his movies. Anyone who has a little idea about James Bond knows that the character is larger than life and likes to live his life on the edge.
Bond is very fond of his automobiles, especially his Aston Martins. So it is no surprise that his fans too will also share one or two passions of the iconic spy from ‘Her Majesty’s Secret Service’. Such a case recently came to light in our country.
007 Fan From Gujarat
Ashik Patel, a transporter by profession from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, has pledged a whopping Rs 34 lakh for a fancy registration number containing the digits 007. This is the same code assigned by the British secret service to Bond and is often referred to by this number. Patel intends to use this registration number for his newly bought Toyota Fortuner which cost him around Rs 39.50 lakh.
This comes at a time in the ongoing crisis related to Covid-19 where minimalism has become the new financial mantra. Some may also question the judiciousness of the act of spending almost the same amount of money as his car on registration number. However, Ashik maintains he has his own reasons.
According to the Ahmedabad RTO, Rs 34 lakh is the highest bidding amount for a specific registration number in recent times. The number will be officially allotted to Patel shortly after the payment is made.
It should be pointed out that in recent months during the Covid-19 pandemic, 100 or fewer bidders would take part in auctions of fancy numbers. On this occasion, 622 people bid for 24 such numbers. The number ‘001’ fetched the next highest bid of Rs 5.65 lakh which was followed by a Rs 1.40 lakh bid for ‘0369’ number.
Toyota Fortuner Details
Coming to the vehicle, Toyota Fortuner is one of the most popular premium full-size SUVs in India. It is offered with two powertrain options: a 2.7-litre petrol engine or a 2.8-litre diesel engine. The former puts out 166 PS of power and 245 Nm of peak torque whereas the latter cranks out 177 PS of power and 420 Nm of torque in the manual variant and an extra 30 Nm when paired to an automatic. A six-speed automatic transmission comes as standard in both units while a 5-speed manual and a 6-speed manual can opt for petrol and diesel units respectively.
It competes against the likes of Ford Endeavour, MG Gloster and Mahindra Alturas G4. it is offered at a price bracket of Rs 28.66 – 36.88 Lakh (ex-showroom). Fortuner is set to receive a major facelift which is expected to launch early next year.
