A potentially big piece of news is creeping in under the radar. Brough Superior, the Rolls-Royce of motorcycles, is back after almost 70 years of inactivity. Or rather, the rights to this greatest of all names have been sold to an Austrian-based British businessman called Mark Upham—and he’s aiming to revitalise the brand. Two motorcycles bearing the revered trademark are on show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance: The one shown above, in ‘Pendine’ trim, and an Alpine Grand Sports remake with twin headlamps. There are some parallels here with John Bloor’s revitalisation of the Triumph marque, and Stuart Garner’s current attempt to resuscitate Norton. But marketing nous seems to be in short supply. There’s an incomprehensible lack of decent publicity photos or information about the two new bikes, other than a short report on Paul d´Orleans’ excellent Vintagent website. (D´Orleans has been appointed West Coast USA Sales and Business Development Consultant.) Mark Upham’s other business, British Only Austria, is advertising a lovely original Brough Superior SS100 for €225,000 ($320,000).
Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS | 1/60s | f/2.8 | ISO 250 | Focal length 6.2mm
