Rare AJS E95 Porcupine Motorcycle to Go Under the Hammer

An ultra-rare 1954 AJS E95 "Porcupine" motorcycle is to be auctioned at the upcoming Quail Lodge event this August, Bonhams announced today. The example in question is one of just four E95s completed by the factory. The bike was nicknamed Porcupine due to the spiked cooling fins on its cylinder head.

Until recently, this particular example had been on display for more than two decades, occupying pride of place at the world-famous National Motorcycle Museum in England, its motor having been overhauled by Team Obsolete Equippe. It is estimated to bring upwards of $750,000 at auction.

An interesting fact is that it was an E95 that won First in Class at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the first year motorcycles were ever admitted.

"As far as motorcycles go, the Porcupine is at the very top," said Bonhams CEO Malcolm Barber. "It is arguably the most beautiful, graceful and innovative racing motorcycle ever built, the perfect blend of technology and art. Comparisons are impossible but bikes of a similar caliber – rarity, significance and worth – could include a 1915 Cyclone Board Track Racer, 1955 Moto Guzzi V8 or a mid-1960s RC Honda Grand Prix. This AJS is an utterly important machine whose appearance at auction cannot be underscored enough."

"Motorcycles are consistently attracting the interest of discerning motor vehicle enthusiasts and collectors, and their rising values confirm this," said Ben Walker, Bonhams' International Director of Motorcycles. "As the world's premiere auction house in the sale of exceptional motorcycles, we see the addition of rare motorcycles at Quail Lodge as highly complementary to rare motorcars."