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A 1938 motorcycle has fetched more than £300,000 at auction, setting a new world record.

The British-made Brough Superior 750cc BS4 was one of eight motorbikes described by auctioneers Bonhams as the “last known collection of unrestored Broughs".

The batch of rare bikes was found on Bodmin Moor last year and together fetched £752,625.

Called "the motorcycle discovery of the decade" by Ben Walker of Bonhams motorcycle department, the set of bikes are a significant find. Only 10 BS4 bikes were ever made, of which only seven remain.

Walker said: "They've caused quite a stir in the saleroom, with each one far exceeding estimate, allowing us to break our own world record for a British motorcycle sold at auction."

What is a Brough?

George Brough founded Brough's Motorcycles in Nottingham, where the firm's factory in Haydn Road built motorcycles in the 1920s and 1930s.

Broughs were considered ‘the Rolls Royce of Motorcycles’ and were used by British archaeologist, military officer and diplomat, TE Lawrence. The celebrated figure died in a crash while riding a Brough Superior SS100 in 1935.

The Brough on which Lawrence died can be seen in the Imperial War Museum.

It is not clear if the buyer of the Superior BS4 was based in the UK or overseas.

The outbreak of World War Two saw the Brough factory converted to build Rolls Royce Merlin engines for RAF war planes, halting production. Since no suitable engines were available after the war, production never resumed and the company closed.

There are around 1,000 Broughs left in the world.