A Brough Superior SS100, once owned by company founder George Brough, has provided the spectacular highlight to Bonhams' Stafford Sale of Pioneer, Vintage and Collectors' Motorcycles & Memorabilia.

Brough Superior is integral to the history of British motorcycling - the earliest model, the SS100, is highly sought after

The 1939-registered motorcycle sold for £253,500 ($425,774) at the April 27 auction in the UK, up 40.8% on its high estimate of £180,000.

The Brough Superior SS100 is one of the most sought after of all British motorcycles, with just 383 made between 1924-1940.

The Brough Superior company was formed after George Brough, son of William Edward Brough, split from his father's motorcycle building company to work on his own designs, adding the suffix "Superior" to the chagrin of his family.

Brough focused on building sportier racing bikes, in contrast to the luxury cruisers made by his father. Used by the likes of Lawrence of Arabia and successfully raced by George Brough throughout the pre-war period, they are intimately connected with the history of British motorcycling.

The example at auction was campaigned by George Brough in the 1939 London to Edinburgh endurance run, in which motorcycling journalist Henry Laird sat in the sidecar.

Also selling was a 1939 Brough Superior 980cc project bike, which came complete with a petrol tube sidecar and sold for £55,200 ($93,720).

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