Vintage Brough Superior Set To Break Motorcycle Auction Records

A 1928 Brough Superior motorcycle, nicknamed 'Moby Dick' is expected to become the most expensive bike ever to be sold at auction when it goes under the hammer next month in Italy. Equipped with a 1140 cc v-twin engine, and specially tuned by George Brough and JAP, the Brough Superior SS100 was nicknamed "Moby Dick" by 'Motor Cycling' magazine in 1931, when it was proclaimed as the "fastest privately owned machine in the world" at that time. During that motorcycle magazine road test, Moby Dick was timed at 115 mph (185 kmph) in top (third) gear, with 109 mph (175 kmph) achievable in second.

This 1928 Brough Superior is alternatively known as Moby Dick

A later owner managed to hit 125 mph (201 kmph) on the same bike. The bike was sold by Bonhams for GBP 210,500 in 2011, becoming one of the top 10 most valuable motorcycles ever sold. This time around, auctioneers RM-Sothebys expects Moby Dick to sell for between 500,000 Euros and 700,000 Euros (between Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 5 crore), although finally the bike may end up selling for more. In all, five Broughs will be offered at the RM Sothebys' Villa Erba auction on the shores of Lake Como on 27 May 2017. There's a 1936 Brough Superior SS100, one of just 102 SS110s built with a Matchless engine. This bike is expected to sell between 180,000 Euros and 250,000 Euros. (Between Rs 1.2 crore - Rs 1.75 crore). There's another 1938 Brough Superior SS80 De Luxe and a 1933 Brough Superior SS80 De Luxe which will be auctioned on 27th May.

Five Broughs will be offered at the RM Sothebys' Villa Erba auction

There's also the 2011 Brough Superior SS100 750 "Baby Pendine", which set records for both the mile and kilometre at the 2013 Bonneville Speed Trials, piloted by motorcycle journalist Alan Cathcart. All these bikes are expected to fetch between 100,000 Euros and 250,000 Euros (Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1.75 crore) at the auction. Also on offer are four MV Agustas and two Norton motorcycles. The total collection, which has been named 'Moto-Icons' is estimated at just under 3 million Euros (over Rs 20 crore).

The Brough Superior SS100 is regarded as the Rolls-Royce of motorcycles and the Superior SS100 was manufactured from 1924 to 1940, creating just 69 of the custom models in the first year of production. Over 3,000 Brough Superior motorcycles were made during the production run, and almost a third of those production models still exist.