Brough Superior BS4 sets new record for a British bike sold at auction
Rare four-cylinder Brough Superior smashes estimates at Bonhams auction
A 1938 BROUGH Superior BS4 has set a new world for a British motorcycle sold at auction after it was bought by a German bidder for £331,900 at yesterday’s Bonhams Stafford Sale.
The four-cylinder, 750cc, BS4 with twin rear wheels, was part of a collection of Brough Superiors dubbed the ‘Broughs of Bodmin’, after they were discovered in barns on Bodmin Moor last December, where they had been languishing for the past 50 years.
The collection was originally expected to sell for a total of £340,000, but went for more than double that at £752,625, thanks to each bike fetching well over its estimated price.
The collection included another seven Brough Superiors, including a 1936 SS80 and a 1938 SS100 which were found complete and in parts under half a century of dust. Until they were uncovered, they were thought to have been destroyed because of uncertainty over whether they existed.
Ben Walker, International Director for Bonhams Collectors' Motorcycle Department, said: ‘The Broughs of Bodmin Moor are the motorcycle discovery of the decade. They've caused quite a stir in the saleroom.’
Bonhams West Country motoring specialist said: ‘Having been housed in a Cornwall barn for so many decades, we're delighted to have brought these machines back into the spotlight.’
