George Brough's own SS100. Its estimate will make your eyes bleed
AUCTIONEERS Phillips de Pury & Company will be selling this prototype Brough Superior SS100 “Alpine Grand Sport” built in 1925 by legendary motorcycle racer and manufacturer George Brough.
Owned and raced by Brough himself, this historic motorcycle will be sold December 15th with a pre-sale estimate of £380,000.
In preparation for the 1925 Austrian Alpine Trial, an 8-day race, Brough designed the present lot, his own personal bike and the first “Alpine Grand Sport” (AGS), a modified SS100. Chief Engineer Harold Karslake, who assembled the machine in early 1925, made critical adjustments to account for the demands of the Alpine trial which included distance runs, hill climbs, and speed sections. The fruits of his labor? An Austrian speed award for Brough and a gold medal later that year during the London to Exeter trial.
Brough Superiors comprised the best-made components of the day: engines by J.A. Prestwich; gearboxes from Sturmey Archer; Bonniksen speedometers; and the famous sculpted “Bulbous Nose Saddle Tank”. Given its maker’s attention to detail as well as the marque’s unparalleled repair and replacement service, the Brough Superior lived up to its name. Reporter H.D. Teague dubbed it “The Rolls-Royce of Motor Cycles.”
Brough Superiors, among the most highly regarded and coveted motorcycles of all time, were built between 1919 and 1940 by pioneering manufacturer George Brough at his Brough Superior Works, Nottingham, UK. The auction takes place on the 15th December at Phillips de Pury & Company, 450 Park Avenue, New York.
