VC040

Brough Superior SS100 aka George VII
Nottingham, England, 1932

Build by George Brough, this is the first superbike to set world speed records in the 1920s and 1930s. The SS100 designation derives its name from the manufacturer's guarantee that every model bearing this badge would break the 100 mph (161 km/h) barrier.
This motorcycle was the seventh in the collection of British national hero and spy Thomas Edward Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia). It was on this motorcycle that Lawrence was involved in a fatal accident near his home in Clouds Hill on May 13, 1935, while trying to avoid a collision with two children on bicycles. This incident became a key impetus for the introduction of mandatory helmet laws for motorcycle riders worldwide.