Brough Superior SS100 motorbike set to fetch record £300,000
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 3:13 am
#Brough Superior SS100 #motorbike set to fetch record £300,000 at auction
The Brough Superior SS100 - dubbed 'the Rolls-Royce of the motorcycle world' - has been tipped to fetch a record £300,000 at auction.
The 1928 Brough Superior SS100 was the fastest vehicle on the road when it was made, hitting speeds of 125mph at a time when most cars could only reach the 50mph mark.
Lawrence of Arabia owned seven and died after crashing one in 1935 after he swerved to avoid cyclists.
‘It looks like it is doing 100mph stood still,’ said Ben Walker of Bonhams, which is auctioning the bike – complete with original handlebars and brakes – in Stafford on October 16.
Built for speed: The motorbikes reached 100mph in an era when cars were only able to achieve half that amount (Picture: BNPS).
A 1929 Brough holds the current record, selling for £286,000 last year.
The bikes were manufactured by racer and designer George Brough in Nottingham between 1919 and 1940.
They usually retailed for around £130-£180 in the 1920s and 30s - which meant that they were popular with the wealthy as well as celebrities of the era, including playwright George Bernard Shaw.
However only around one third of the 3,000 or so bikes which were made are still in existence - hence the reason they generally sell for such high prices.
The Brough Superior SS100 - dubbed 'the Rolls-Royce of the motorcycle world' - has been tipped to fetch a record £300,000 at auction.
The 1928 Brough Superior SS100 was the fastest vehicle on the road when it was made, hitting speeds of 125mph at a time when most cars could only reach the 50mph mark.
Lawrence of Arabia owned seven and died after crashing one in 1935 after he swerved to avoid cyclists.
‘It looks like it is doing 100mph stood still,’ said Ben Walker of Bonhams, which is auctioning the bike – complete with original handlebars and brakes – in Stafford on October 16.
Built for speed: The motorbikes reached 100mph in an era when cars were only able to achieve half that amount (Picture: BNPS).
A 1929 Brough holds the current record, selling for £286,000 last year.
The bikes were manufactured by racer and designer George Brough in Nottingham between 1919 and 1940.
They usually retailed for around £130-£180 in the 1920s and 30s - which meant that they were popular with the wealthy as well as celebrities of the era, including playwright George Bernard Shaw.
However only around one third of the 3,000 or so bikes which were made are still in existence - hence the reason they generally sell for such high prices.
staring Daniel Craig (BMW-HP2), Jet Li (Kawi Z1000, OK OK he gets a Kawi NINJA ZX10, for cheesy humour intertwined with script), Uma Thurman (KTM990), Jason Statham (Triumph Speed Triple), Jackie Chan (Yamaha R1), Zoe Deschanel (Suzuki Burgman?, no a Gladius), Matt Damon (Aprilia RSv1000 nahhh... Ducati Streetfighter), Pierce Brosnan (Norton 996 Commando) and how about Sylvester (he dies in this one, near the beginning, because of a backfiring H-D V-Rod) Stallone... etc...