Photo: Bonhams
One of the "Broughs of Bodmin Moor" bikes surpassed all expectations at a recent auction, the Spring Stafford Sale in the UK capital of London, as it went to a German bidder for a sum that is almost three times bigger than the most optimistic figure it was expected to sell for.
The bike in question is a 750cc Brough Superior BS4, a most spectacular vintage machine that has two wheels in the rear and was owned by Hubert Cantrey, one of George Brough's friends.
Auction house Bonhams expected the BS4 to sell for anything between €110,000 and €165,000 ($121,000-182,000), but their wildest expectations were completely wrong, and in a good way. The four-cylinder 1938 Brough Superior BS4 was sold to a German bidder for £331,900, which, by Google's exchange rates, translates to €422,495 or $488,810.
The "Broughs of Bodmin Moor" collection was sold in its entirety, with the eight machines fetching more than double of what Bonhams estimated. The auction house hoped to get £340,000 ($500,740 or €432,810) for these bikes, but the final sum was as high as £752,625 ($1.108 mil or €958,065).
Included were seven more Brough Superior motorcycles, all discovered last December in barns around Bodmin Moor. The very existence of these motorcycles was a questionable subject, as they had been lost for around half a century. Also in the lot, the Bonhams auction has a 1938 982cc Brough Superior SS100 and one manufactured even earlier, in 1926.
The Broughs of Bodmin Moor are regarded as "the motorcycle discovery of the decade" by Ben Walker, International Director for Bonhams Collectors' Motorcycle Department.
There is no information as to whether the buyer intends to restore these bikes to a form that's as close to the original one or has plans only to put them into conservation. Some of these machines are in an advanced state of decay, and maybe restoration would yield better chances for them to celebrate their 100th anniversary. Either way, it appears that their resell value just won't go down.
Auction house Bonhams expected the BS4 to sell for anything between €110,000 and €165,000 ($121,000-182,000), but their wildest expectations were completely wrong, and in a good way. The four-cylinder 1938 Brough Superior BS4 was sold to a German bidder for £331,900, which, by Google's exchange rates, translates to €422,495 or $488,810.
The "Broughs of Bodmin Moor" collection was sold in its entirety, with the eight machines fetching more than double of what Bonhams estimated. The auction house hoped to get £340,000 ($500,740 or €432,810) for these bikes, but the final sum was as high as £752,625 ($1.108 mil or €958,065).
Included were seven more Brough Superior motorcycles, all discovered last December in barns around Bodmin Moor. The very existence of these motorcycles was a questionable subject, as they had been lost for around half a century. Also in the lot, the Bonhams auction has a 1938 982cc Brough Superior SS100 and one manufactured even earlier, in 1926.
The Broughs of Bodmin Moor are regarded as "the motorcycle discovery of the decade" by Ben Walker, International Director for Bonhams Collectors' Motorcycle Department.
There is no information as to whether the buyer intends to restore these bikes to a form that's as close to the original one or has plans only to put them into conservation. Some of these machines are in an advanced state of decay, and maybe restoration would yield better chances for them to celebrate their 100th anniversary. Either way, it appears that their resell value just won't go down.
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