Dear Brit-Iron, [10-12-2013]
Just to clear the air regarding the "New Brough Superior SS100" publicity going around recently.
The Brough Superior name is being used through the purchase by one Mark Upham of the British registered company called "Brough Superior Engineering" which was a company formed after the death of George Brough in 1970, by people who had been employees of his and who purchased the business assets of George Brough's estate from his widow. Brough Superior Engineering was active until 1983 when it was purchased by one of the companies for whom it did contract engineering work for. Brough Superior Engineering did not make motorcycles during its active life.
In the 1920 to 1940 period when George Brough, designed, made and rode what is considered in the Classic motorcycle world to be called a Brough Superior motorcycle, his company was a sole proprietorship and simply known as "George Brough". when he began contract engineering work (on the outbreak of WWII he began to manufacture Crankshafts and camshafts for Rolls-Royce Merlin aeroengines) and through until 1970 the firm was incorporated as George Brough Ltd. and still owned by him. The Brough Superior Engineering company had been acquired in the 1990s by a Mr. Card who set about making 10 replicas of a late 1920s Brough Superior motorcycle. Some of these were actually completed. After Card's death the rights to the name Brough Superior Engineering were purchased by Mr. Upham.
In the last few years, the Brough Superior Engineering company has produced a small number of Brough Superior motorcycles with a design based on the Brough Superior SS100 model motorcycles of the late 1920s. A replica JAP engine was the power plant for these bikes. I think that fewer than 10 have been constructed. The price of one of these was advertised on the Web at $250,000 US. Several racing models of Brough Superiors patterned, more or less, after the 1920s Brough Superiors have entered the Bonneville and Pendine speed trials with some success.
My understanding of the "New Brough Superior SS100", to retail in very small numbers (20 bikes/year?) for a projected 100,000 Euros ($140,000 Canadian, $147,000 US, 83,500 pounds sterling) is that it is an entirely new design and bears only a passing resemblance to the products of made by George Brough from 1920 to 1940. From pictures which I've seen on the Web, it would not a road-legal motorcycle in North America and probably not in the EU countries of Europe. So, I doubt if I will ever see one of these bikes on the road in Canada. Or have the chance to purchase one - even if I were to win a big lottery prize.
Guess I will have to be content with old Broughs.
Allan Johnson afjohnson@sympatico.ca
