VOL. 52 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 18, 2015 P127
Brough did not resume pro-
duction of motorcycles after V
Day, but that's about to change
under the direction of its present
owner Mark Upham, the Austri-
an-based Brit who acquired the
company in 2008, and since
then has been building brand
new examples of the iconic
1920s-1930s SS100. This was in
many ways the first true Super-
bike, and in the vintage era be-
came the motorcycle of choice
for the cognoscenti of speed.
These included the legendary
T.E. Lawrence ('of Arabia'), who
owned seven Broughs in suc-
cession before he sadly died
riding one in 1935. Upham is
back-ordered in manufacture of
his vintage-style SS100 recre-
ations, which are authentic down
to the smallest detail, but may
be purchased with the added
benefit of electric start!
But now a 21st-century version
of the Anglo-French Entente
Cordiale has resulted in the
Brough Superior marque being
truly reborn, with production
about to commence in France of
the first new high-performance
streetbike to carry the famous
name in 75 years. Mark Upham
has decided to relaunch Brough
Superior with a modern range
of high-performance, high-
quality and inevitably high-priced
models – costing $55,880 and
employing advanced technology,
high-class materials and radical
design. To do so, he's forged a
collaboration with iconic French
designer Thierry Henriette, own-
er of Boxer Design in Toulouse,
to create the all-new SS100,
which made its public debut at
the 2013 Milan Show to mark the
90th anniversary of the model's
original introduction.
With the Boxer-designed
SS100, Brough's retro styling
clearly marks it out as a descen-
dant of the prewar SS100: it
employs many advanced engi-
neering solutions and high-tech
components, including using
the liquid-cooled, 997cc V-twin
engine measuring 94 x 71.8mm
as a fully load-bearing chassis
component, with a small titanium
upper spaceframe bolted to the
cylinder heads to fit the front
suspension. Running 11:1 com-
pression, this eight-valve power
unit with composite chain/gear-
driven DOHC currently produces
127 bhp at 7,800 rpm, accord-
ing to Boxer, with a meaty peak
torque figure of 88.5 pound-
feet at 6,400 rpm – although
lower-performance variants will
apparently also be available for
customers who prefer rideability
to speed, and a turbocharged
version is envisaged for those
who want more performance
further down the road. All-new
Brough Superior motorcycles
will be built on a bespoke basis
for each owner, says Mark Up-
ham – a spinoff from that steep
50,000-Euro selling price.
"Brough Superior is a prestige
marque, and just as George
Brough did when he founded the
company, every motorcycle we
construct today will be built to
(Above) Just stop and drink
in the details of this machine.
This is as close to rolling art as
you may ever get.
(Left) You won't be finding
quad disc brakes on any other
modern production bike.
(Far left) The seat, in fact the
whole bike for that matter,
looks like it's been crafted from
an airstream caravan.
