This machine is what happens when the Rolls-Royce of motorbikes and the most innovative of watchmakers join forces

“As fast and reliable as express trains, and the greatest fun in the world to drive”.

That’s how the famed author, soldier, Arabist, spy and bike nut T. E. Lawrence described his beloved Brough Superiors, the ‘Rolls-Royce of motorcycles’ (in the opinion of contemporary journalist H. D. Teague) that cost as much to buy as a terraced house back in the 1920s.

Fast forward a century, and I’m sitting on a modern-day ‘Brough’ that, at £210,000 plus VAT, actually costs more than many of today's terraced houses and has indeed proved to be ‘the greatest fun in the world to drive’ .

It’s called the RMB01 and, with its aggressive stance, low profile lines and hollowed-out framework, it could easily be a prop from a sci-fi movie. After a dozen ever more rapid laps of Spain’s Calafat race circuit, however, I can confirm that it is indeed a fully working machine.

The 150 mph, track-only beast is the product of a collaboration between the modern-day Brough Superior and ultra high-end watch maker Richard Mille, which is known for producing timepieces that make the motorcycle seem inexpensive — two years ago, an example of its RM 53-02 Sapphire Tourbillon fetched $4.5 million at Sotheby’s.

And it won’t take Richard Mille fans long to spot elements of the RMB01 that were inspired by the watch maker’s distinctive horological style.

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The RMB01

The transparent mechanisms of the rev counter and speedometer is another Richard Mille flourish.

The multi-piece wheels resemble a tourbillon cage.

The multi-piece wheels have been designed to resemble a tourbillon cage; the hollowed-out shapes of the forks and swingarm refer directly to the lightweight cases of the watches, and the bike’s chassis takes the form of a carbon fibre exo-skeleton from which the 997cc, v-twin engine is suspended — much like how the skeletonised movements are suspended in the watches.

Other similarities include a clutch cover resembling Richard Mille’s distinctive winding crowns and instruments that mimic the view into an RM watch movement — complete with oscillating gears that activate the rev counter and speedo needles when the ignition is switched on.

The graphics are based on those found on a typical Richard Mille dial, while the binnacle is bordered by a carbon fibre and titanium bezel featuring top-loading screws similar to those of the watches.

It’s a far cry from the machines George Brough started building after leaving his father’s car and motorcycle business on account of daddy’s standards simply not meeting those of his perfectionist son.

George kindly emphasised the fact by adding the ‘Superior’ suffix to his freshly-minted marque before wheeling-out the first new machines from his Nottingham workshop in 1919.

Within three years he was building his tuned SS80 model (guaranteed good for 80mph), taking one to the Brooklands track in Surrey where fellow competitors chortled at Brough’s incessant pampering of the bike he nicknamed ‘Spit and Polish.’

Their laughter subsided, however, when he won the experts scratch race and racked-up a new, 100mph lap record.

Brough won 51 of his next 52 races, too, only being denied victory in the last after he fell off (although his bike dutifully kept going and wobbled across the finish line first).

By the time Brough had introduced his SS100 model in 1924 (each personally tested by the proprietor to the magic ‘ton’) and the Alpine Grand Sports for hard-riding tourists, the Brough Superior legend was well and truly established and Lawrence had become its most famous patron.

He bought his first in 1922 and called it ‘Boanerges’, following with six others named George II, III, IV, V, VI and VII.

He died on the latter in May 1935 while attempting to avoid a collision with two boys on bicycles in a lane near his Dorset home, Clouds Hill Cottage.

Lawrence and George Bernard Shaw were among several big names drawn to Broughs for their exceptional fit and finish, exclusivity and reassuringly high price tags, but quality and celebrity patronage weren’t enough to prevent the marque from folding in 1940 when war stalled orders.

That left the Brough Superior name in mothballs until 2008, when it was bought by British entrepreneur Mark Upham, who revived it with a modern twist, building bikes using contemporary materials, computer-aided design and state-of-the-art construction.

Upham achieved his dream with the help of Toulouse-based engineering firm Boxer Design whose owner, Thierry Henriette, took over the re-born marque in 2013 and has since expanded the line-up by adding one new model per year (among which is one called the ‘Lawrence’ ).

In 2019, meanwhile, a collaboration with Aston Martin led to two limited edition bikes — the AMB100, a €100,000 turbocharged roadster built of 100 examples, and the track-only AMB100 Pro, an even more expensive effort based on Aston’s Valkyrie hypercar.

It was cars, too, that brought Richard Mille into contact with Brough in 2019. At the giant Retromobile classic show in Paris, Mille (the man) visited the maker’s display stand and, according to its executive director Albert Castaigne, began examining the bikes in ‘incredible detail’.

Mille subsequently visited the Toulouse factory, but it wasn’t until 2023 that he and Henriette finalised a deal to produce 150 RMB01 machines, more than 50 of which are said to have already been spoken for.

Would George Brough have approved? Almost certainly — although he might have considered the asking price to be a little on the low side.