1938 Brough Superior Sets New Auction World Record

A rare motorcycle discovered in a barn in the UK has set a new world record after selling for GBP 331,900, (roughly around Rs 3.2 crore). The 1938 Brough Superior 750cc BS4 was one of eight bikes believed to have been scrapped over 50 years ago. They were found last year in a Cornish village home.

Together, the eight bikes, including some whole machines and others in parts, fetched GBP 752,625 (over Rs 7.2 crore). The record breaking 1938 Brough Superior 750 features a four cylinder engine, a technological marvel during the time it was built. Most motorcycles of that era had only single-cylinder engines.

Built in the 1920s and 1930s, at founder George Brough's factory, the Brough Superiors were known as the Rolls Royce of motorcycles. George Brough decided to try an engine of the Austin Seven car on the BS4 model.

These iconic, rare British motorcycles were believed to have been destroyed, until Bonhams motorcycle department discovered the eight machines in 2015 in a remote Cornish village. The motorcycles were discovered whole, in parts, and some were partially submerged under decades of dust, old machinery parts and household clutter. Bonhams Stafford sale saw the bikes unveiled for the first time in more than 50 years.

British Army officer TE Lawrence, also known as Lawrence of Arabia, owned eight Brough Superior bikes. Only ten BS4 models (Brough Superior four cylinder bikes) were built, and only seven survived. TE Lawrence was killed in 1935 riding an SS100 he had named George VII.