Brough Superior reveal new special ‘Lawrence edition’ SS
Brough Superior pay tribute to their most famous rider – Colonel T.E. Lawrence
Brough Superior have unveiled the ‘Lawrence’ – a tribute to famous Brough owner and rider T.E. Lawrence. Handmade from top-notch materials including titanium and carbon fibre, Brough say they set out to create the “most high-end motorcycle in the world”. Lawrence was an Army officer, writer and diplomat whose work in the Middle East earned him the nickname Lawrence of Arabia. But when he wasn’t changing the world, he was riding motorcycles, owning seven Broughs over his lifetime. They were so important to him he wrote letters to friends to talk of their excellence and even dedicated an entire chapter of his book The Mint to the pleasure he derived from riding his Brough hundreds of miles just to pick up ingredients for brunch.
But his life was tragically cut short when he crashed to avoid hitting two young boys that were playing in the road. It’s his life and love of bikes that Brough are celebrating now.
At the centre of the bike sits Brough’s 88-degree 997cc V-twin, which produces 102bhp and 64lb.ft. The engine hangs in a titanium frame that is hand assembled, welded and polished at the Brough factory in France, as is the titanium subframe. The Fior fork and swingarm are both machined from giant blocks of aluminium, not only for strength with associated low weight, but also because it produces a stunning bit of kit. The wheels too are machined from giant billets of aluminium in Toulouse.
The familiar twin shotgun style pipes are gone, replaced with sweeping headers that curve past the motor and are finished with stainless steel megaphones. The beauty stretches to the finishing kit, with custom Beringer calipers biting onto Beringer discs.
The final piece of the puzzle is the 17-litre tank, which echoes the shape of Lawrence’s original SS100 but brings more complex curves that Brough say they have only been able to produce due to the switch to carbon fibre.
The result of all these fancy materials is a weight of just 200kg with a perfect 50/50 split front and rear. While the machine itself isn’t hefty, the bill if you desire one in the garage is – Brough are making just 188 Lawrences, in honour of the war hero’s birth in 1888, and each one will cost an eye-watering £52,000. Still a lot cheaper than a Rolls Royce, mind.
‘Just 188 will be made with each costing £52,000’