Classic cars to get 80s style number plates in Dubai from November

Dubai: Classic cars in Dubai will soon get retro-style license plates inspired by those used in the 80s in Dubai, it was announced yesterday.

Under the directives of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has introduced the new design for the license plates of classic vehicles.

In a marked change from the current brown plates for classics, the colour scheme of the newly designed plates is dominated by yellow and features improvements to ensure the design alignment with Dubai’s standard vehicles plates.

“With the new design, the plates can be clearly and easily read from a distance. The design has two distinct elements — the words ‘Dubai’ and ‘Classic’ are written in both Arabic and English on a yellow background, while the number is written on a white background. RTA will start issuing the new plates for classic vehicles to interested owners from November 2020. Requests can be placed either through RTA’s website or the customer happiness centre in Deira,” said Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors of RTA.

“The new design meets all the required technical standards. The plates have a touch of luxury and feature innovative digital printing. Moreover, they are not affected by different climate conditions.”

Specific criteria for designating a vehicle as classic include being over 30 years old, apart from meeting technical testing requirements.