Classic Ferraris With 'RU' Registrations?

[W111AAM]

What's the association with classic Ferrari's having 'RU' registration numbers? Sure I've seen several articles with the likes of Eric Clapton and Sir A Bamford and they both have old Ferrari's with 'RU' plates. Tom Hartley has posted a picture of a California Spider now with the number '4 RU'. Did they all come from the same dealer around the same time?

[rix]

An exclusivity thing... Like threads without titles... (IBTT )

[gmarsh]

From old 'photos and information I have, I believe that Col Ronnie Hoare/Maranello Concessionaires registered some (all?) of their cars with the RU letters. I think I am correct in saying that one of the first Ferraris imported by Maranello when they started trading in 1960(?) was a 250SWB registered RU5. Other early Maranello cars having an RU number was a 250 Lusso 4RU and a Testarossa, either RU5 or RU8. The RU number plates may have been the letters issued to the Egham area, where Maranello were based. I believe this information is fairly accurate and will happily be corrected.

[Historian]

The above post is pretty much accurate except the 'RU' signified a Bournemouth registration from where the Colonel Ronnie Hoare operated the F. English Ltd Ford dealership. In July 1960 he took on the Ferrari concession for the UK and operated out of a small section of this Bournemouth premises.
It wasn't until 1967 that Tower Garage in Egham, Surrey (formerly a Shell petrol station and prior to that a Vauxhall/Bedford dealership) became the home of Maranello Concessionaires.

PH