On this day in auto history - January 11th

Mon 11th Jan 2021

It was on this day in 1982 when news broke that Mark Thatcher - the wayward son of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher - had gone missing in the Sahara Desert whilst competing in the famous Paris-Dakar Rally.

In all, the 29-year-old spent six days ‘lost’ with his French co-driver and a mechanic whilst driving a Peugeot 504 in an escapade which made national news headlines at the time.

They were eventually found by the Algerian military following a search involving four countries, planes and military helicopters.

After Mark Thatcher later admitted making “no special preparations” for the gruelling endurance event, he became a figure of ridicule and was regularly lampooned on the popular satirical comedy show, Spitting Image.

In 2012, newly-released archived files showed that Mrs Thatcher contributed money towards the search herself rather than use taxpayers’ money and risk a public backlash.

The tax values are provided by a third-party supplier and while every effort is made to ensure their accuracy please double check with your advisor. If the car was registered after 31/03/2017 then it is subject to new tax rules. All prices we display are for the cars second tax payment onwards. You can find out information on the cars first tax payment here

Cars registered on or after 1 April 2017

Rates for second tax payment onwards

Fuel type	Single 12 month payment	Single 12 month payment by Direct Debit	Total of 12 monthly payments by Direct Debit	Single 6 month payment	Single 6 month payment by Direct Debit
Petrol or diesel	£180	£180	£189	£99	£94.50
Electric	£0	N/A	N/A	£0	N/A
Alternative	£170	£170	£178.50	£93.50	£89.25

Alternative fuel vehicles include hybrids, bioethanol and liquid petroleum gas.

Vehicles with a list price of more than £40,000

You have to pay an extra £390 a year if you have a car with a ‘list price’ (the published price before any discounts) of more than £40,000. You do not have to pay this if you have a zero emission vehicle.

You only have to pay this rate for 5 years (from the second time the vehicle is taxed).

Check the list price with your dealer so you know how much vehicle tax you’ll have to pay.

Fuel type	Single 12 month payment	Single 12 month payment by Direct Debit	Total of 12 monthly payments by Direct Debit	Single 6 month payment	Single 6 month payment by Direct Debit
Petrol or diesel	£570	£570	£598.50	£313.50	£299.25
Alternative	£560	£560	£588	£308	£294