A SPORTS car enthusiast is hoping to cash in on one of Jersey’s most sought-after registration plates having reluctantly called time on his life behind the wheel.
Kurt Schmidt’s Jaguar is up for sale for a cool £500,000, but it’s not the F-type Jag, but the J-type plate that is the prime driver for the hefty price-tag.
The J7 registration plate was bequeathed to Mr Schmidt’s wife Jenny 18 years ago.
In September 2020, Government House sold J4, which had previously been assigned to the Lieutenant-Governor’s official vehicle, for £380,000. Given the rise in prices over the past three years, the fact that seven is perceived by many as a lucky number, and the three-litre V6 convertible Jag included in the package, the asking price is something Mr Schmidt considers to be realistic.
The move to sell came as Mr Schmidt took the decision to give up driving as a result of his deteriorating eyesight.
He said: “All my life I’ve loved driving sports cars, I’ve had a Morgan, a MGB, the first Triumph Spitfire to be seen in Jersey and both E-type and F-type Jaguars.
“I’ve seen specialists, and been told that my eyesight is alright for driving at the moment, but I’m 85 and think it’s better that I’m off the road.
“It’s sad, but I’d rather take the decision myself than have someone tell me that I can no longer drive, or to have an accident.”
Mr Schmidt will leave the driving to his younger wife (the couple have been married for 61 years). Mrs Schmidt drives a Mini Cooper and VW Beetle, but won’t be transferring J7 to either of her cars.
The J-plate had been in her family’s ownership for many years, Mrs Schmidt said, before being left to her by an aunt in 2005.
“I was her last remaining blood relative, so it was passed to me,” she said. “I didn’t realise how potentially valuable it was at first.”
The sale, which is being carried out through the classified advertising pages of the JEP – and the online equivalent – also includes two other ‘lots’.
A Porsche Carrera convertible with the registration J919 is up for grabs for £72,000, and an Aston Martin DB7 Vantage is listed for £45,000. The latter doesn’t have a notable registration plate, although there’d no doubt be an option to buy both the Jag and the DB7 and execute a switch.
Earlier this month another couple put their car – and a valuable registration plate – up for sale. The vintage Mustang convertible and its J99 plate have a combined price tag of £200,000.
