Brough Superior - See also Railton

 Brough Superior Cars Ltd., Nottingham – 1935 – 1939

George Brough was an engineer with a flair for self publicity and was, by the time he started motor manufacture, already well established as a motorcycle builder of “superior” machines.  These large and powerful motorcycles were fitted with JAP and other 1000 cc engines and were very suitable for sidecar as well as solo use.  Some were even fitted with Austin Seven engines and twin rear wheels.  Famous owners included Lawrence of Arabia who was unfortunately killed whilst riding one.  They were advertised as “The Rolls Royce of Motorcycles” after being so quoted by a journalist and the title appears in italics as Rolls Royce did not give permission for their name to be used.  These machines were always assembled from proprietary parts with a large and distinctive fuel tank.

His first effort at producing a car was in 1933 with a 4 cylinder Meadows engine coupled to a pre-selector gearbox  This was found to be underpowered, as was a later 6 cylinder version.

The later cars, starting in 1935, were also a concoction of bought in components and followed the lead by Railton of using American Terraplane chassis which were imported from the USA for £85.  Additional items were added which included automatic chassis lubrication and built-in jacking.  They were fitted with 4 seat drophead bodies by Atcherly which cost £125. 

The engines used in 1935/36 were the Hudson straight 8 unit of 4,168 cc but Railton, who had a licence to import these, objected and so Brough had to revert to the Hudson Six of 3,455 cc and the shorter chassis.  They claimed that the engines were tuned but there is some doubt about this.  However they offered a Centric supercharged model with a claimed top speed of 99 mph.  There was also lightweight model, called the “Alpine Grand Sports” with a sports body.  About 70 Hudson based cars were sold.

For 1938 the Brough XII had a chassis designed by Harold Karslake and fitted with the V12 Lincoln Zephyr engine of 4,387 cc but only one was made with an attractive saloon body but as it was heavy and expensive it was not destined to be a commercial success. 

Until his death in 1970 George Brough retained an “8” which was used during the Second World War, to deliver Rolls Royce Merlin crankshafts for aircraft production, the company having turned to precision engineering for the war effort.

A number of cars have survived and owners are well catered for by the Railton Owners Club whose details appear in our Marques section.

“Brough Superior, Rolls Royce of Motor Cycles” by R H Clark.                                       Goose & Son, 1964 (1^st Edition)

“Railton & Brough Superior Gold Portfolio”     Brooklands Books.

“Brough Superior?”      MotorSport Magazine, June 1985

“Brough Diamonds”   by W. Boddy      Mayfair, Vol; 21, No. 7