A rare motorcycle discovered in a Cornwall barn set a new world record after selling for more than £300,000.
The 1938 Brough Superior 750cc BS4 was one of eight bikes of its type found on Bodmin Moor in December last year.
Together, eight bikes – described by auctioneers Bonhams as the “last known collection of unrestored Broughs” – reached £752,625.
Ben Walker, from Bonhams motorcycle department, described the find as “the motorcycle discovery of the decade”.
He said: “They’ve caused quite a stir in the saleroom, with each one far exceeding estimate, allowing us to break our own world record for a British motorcycle sold at auction.”
The 1938 Brough Superior 982cc sold for £330,000 at auction
Brough Superior motorcycles
George Brough chats with TE Lawrence, also known as Lawrence of Arabia, at the Brough Superior factory in Haydn Road, Nottingham
- Brough Superior motorcycles were built in Nottingham, at founder George Brough’s factory in Haydn Road
- Built in the 1920s and 1930s, they were known as the Rolls Royce of motorcycles and used by celebrated riders such as TE Lawrence
- British Army officer Lawrence, also known as Lawrence of Arabia, owned eight Brough Superior bikes
- Only ten BS4 models (aka Brough Superior ‘four cylinder’) were built, and only seven survive
- TE Lawrence was killed in 1935 riding an SS100 he had named George VII
Source: Bonhams
The motorcyles were found under ‘decades of dust’
An unnamed German bidder paid £331,900 for the 1938 Brough Superior 750cc BS4.
The motorcycles, which date from between 1926-1939, were collected by Frank Vague, who died in 2015.
The unrestored Brough Superior motorcycles were discovered in a barn on Bodmin Moor
Source: BBC
Sign up for newsletter and more shopping benefits. >>sign up<<