Brough Superior SS 100 MK2 2022 — Specifications

Sixty-six thousand five hundred euros. Take a moment to read that figure. Not the price of a GSX-R prepared for the track, not that of a Ducati Panigale V4 R with a few options. The entry fee to join a club whose waiting list is sometimes worth more than the machine itself. Welcome to the world of the SS100 MK2, where Georges Brough rests in peace knowing that his legacy is in good hands, French hands at that.

The history deserves a moment's consideration. The British marque, founded in Nottingham at the beginning of the 20th century, has long embodied the pinnacle of high-end motorcycles, the kind ordered bespoke like a Savile Row suit, the kind that T.E. Lawrence compulsively accumulated until his death. Repurchased in 2008 by Mark Upham, the resurrection of Brough Superior rests on the shoulders of a French company, Boxer Design. Thierry Henriette knows his craft: the VB1, the FB Mondial Nuda, the SSR 1000 are featured in his portfolio. For the engine, it’s Akira, another French company, that worked on the V-twin. Two French companies at the heart of a British legend, that’s what smells of a beautiful industrial revenge.

This 88-degree V2 of 997 cm3 is what mechanical aesthetics can produce most convincingly today. Liquid cooling, dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, injection: modernity is well and truly present, but without ever appearing as a cold technical brochure. The 102 horsepower arrive at 9,600 rpm, the torque peaks at 87.3 Nm at 7,300 rpm. Reasonable figures for the displacement, far from the hysterias of a Ducati V4 or an S 1000 RR, and that’s precisely the point. The SS100 is not trying to set lap times at Mugello. It rolls at 200 km/h because it is capable, not because it needs to. The only drawback one might find with it: a few hoses that are a little too visible, which jar in this tableau of parts machined with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker.

The tubular titanium chassis is, in itself, a statement of intent. Titanium is the material of space probes and medical implants; here, it serves as the backbone of a road motorcycle. The engine plays a structural role, which allows the frame to remain discreet and allows the mechanics to be exposed without modesty. At the front, no inverted telescopic fork like on any standard sportbike, but a Fior-type triangular train, in magnesium-aluminum alloy with titanium struts and an Öhlins shock absorber in the center of the column. The natural anti-dive of this kinematics is not just a selling point, it’s a driving philosophy. The rear responds with the same care, aluminum-magnesium swingarm and Öhlins again. At 186 kg dry, the machine remains manageable for this level of ambition.

The braking entrusted to Beringer deserves special mention. The 4D system with its 230 mm discs per four-piston caliper and three pads may surprise by its contained dimensions compared to the 320 mm of the Japanese sportbikes, but the supplier claims a three times reduced gyroscopic inertia and superior efficiency in the real-world uses of this machine. For the rear, a single 230 mm disc with a two-piston caliper, cleverly concealed in the swingarm. The 2022 MK2 update mainly brings visual refinements: inclined tank straps, redesigned mudguards, more slender conical exhaust systems. Details, but in this price range, every detail is a decision.

The SS100 MK2 is not for the motorcyclist looking for the best performance-to-price ratio, nor for the track rider, nor even for the long-distance tourist. Its public is that of collectors who still ride, enthusiasts who want to carry something unique on the road, a signed piece as much as a piloted one. In the same vein as an Avinton or an Ecosse, Brough Superior carves its path away from large volumes, between excellence craftsmanship and pure object of desire. One can find that futile. One can also recognize that in a world where motorcycles are increasingly like smartphones on wheels, someone needs to remind us that mechanics can still be a form of art.