It will go under the hammer at Mercedes Benz World on September 6th, just to ram home the message, but the owner will have to wait a year before using it on the public road, as the 63 plate will not become valid until September 2013.

The reserve is set at £2,000, but the final price will probably depend on whether Mercedes chooses to buy it. Car companies love having their own plates: for example Porsche has A 911, and Chrysler used to re-arrange the plate on the UK Viper press car to read WOW HOT (it started out as WOW 110T, but a strategically placed black screw after the first 1 did the trick).

Other Mercedes-themed plates include BO55 AMG (£700), E50 AMG (£500) and, at a stretch, 600 A, (£3,000) for anyone that has a 1960s Mercedes 600 Limousine. Non-Merc plates of possible interest include BA11 OON (£1,000), GYM 80X (£400), TA12 REK (£900), H15 LUV (£350) and H15 MRS (£400).

The DVLA is also advertising CO07 SPY, for anyone who fancies themsleves as the next James Bond. The trouble is that the buyer would have to be able to carry it off. Some fat bald bloke in a Nissan Micra is only going to make things worse by inviting comparisons with the suave super-spy.

If you are into James Bond, Gurensey said last year it will auction the registration number “007”, with no letters or other numbers attached. Now that really would be worth something.