Bonhams' Important Collector's Motorcycles auction saw a 1934 Brough Superior SS100 nipping at the heels of the current world record set by its predecessors.

1934 Brough Superior SS100

The sale, which was held at the 32nd International Classic Motorcycle Show in Staffordshire, UK, saw the Brough Superior sell for £242,300, just £44,000 short of the current world record for a motorbike at auction.

The record is currently held by another Brough Superior SS100 from 1929, which sold for £286,000 in 2010. The same record was previously held by another SS100, which was sold at the Staffordshire show by Bonhams in 2008.

The record-smashing machine has also broken numerous records outside of the auction room, with founder George Brough setting a 130.6mph kilometre in 1928.

The Bonhams auction comes ahead of another important Brough sale in October. A 1922 model of the machine known as "Old Bill", formerly belonging to George Brough, is expected to bring the highest price ever paid for a motorcycle at auction.

Also in the Bonhams auction was the first and only Ferrari motorcycle ever produced. The machine is the only motorbike to be endorsed by Ferrari, after its builder David Kay received a letter from Piero, son of Enzo Ferrari, allowing him to use the famous prancing horse logo on the project. The magnificent motorcycle, dubbed the "Ferrari 900", brought £85,500 to the Bonhams sale, and a fitting reward for Kay's 3,000 man-hours.