Possibly it is simply the place I stay, however you’d virtually assume that barn finds would not nonetheless be taking place as usually as they do. I imply, hasn’t somebody already searched a lot of the barns? And have not loads of them been knocked down in favor of latest development and suburban sprawl, miserable although that may be.
I do not stay within the UK, although, so I think issues should be a bit totally different in that regard. I imply, if they are not, then please clarify how the wonderful of us at Bonhams are telling us about an extremely uncommon 1928 Brough Superior 1,134cc SS100 Alpine Grand Sport that they’ve managed to unearth in time for inclusion within the 2024 Autumn Stafford Sale?
The bike was clearly effectively cared for, and it comes with a full historical past that Bonhams is presently within the strategy of researching and verifying to current probably the most full image. What the public sale home can inform you already, although, is that it is a numbers-matching SS100.
Bonhams
1928 Brough Superior SS100 Alpine Grand Sport
Because it’s almost 100 years previous on the time of writing, it is gone via quite a lot of homeowners throughout its lifetime. One proprietor modified the unique engine fitted to this explicit SS100, putting in KTOR short-stroke cylinders and growing its displacement to 1,134cc, the place it nonetheless sits at present.
Its most up-to-date proprietor bought it again in 1982, for the fairly cheap (and almost unbelievable in 2024 phrases) sum of £2,400. Even adjusted for inflation to 2024 quantities, that is equal to about £8,296 (or US $10,711 on the time of writing).
That proprietor reportedly not often ever took it out of storage, and there the bike sat till after the proprietor’s passing. And that is the way it got here to be a barn discover that Bonhams is about to promote on the 2024 Autumn Stafford Sale, the place the present estimate ranges from £140,000 to £180,000 (or about US $180,000 to $230,000).
Famous bike journalist Alan Cathcart as soon as referred to the SS100 because the “world’s first superbike.” If you happen to occur to have a cool quarter mil sitting in your sofa cushions and on the lookout for a brand new residence, there are actually worse issues you possibly can spend it on.
