George Brough was perhaps more widely known as the designer and builder of those magnificent big-twin motorcycles which are amongst the finest in the world - and certainly amongst the fastest. The same care and precision applied to the two-wheelers was present in the big Brough Superior sports cars, which were very fast indeed, particularly the Alpine supercharged model introduced in 1936. This car employed a much-modified version of the Hudson six-cylinder power unit. "Brough-ised" this 3.455-c.c. (76.2 x 127-mm.) side-valve engine developed over 140-b.h.p., a boost of 3^-lb. per sq. in. being supplied by a triple-belt-driven vane- type supercharger. Aluminum cylinder heads were used, and a compression ratio of 7 to 1 adopted. Suspension was by semi-elliptic front and rear, and Lockheed brakes were fitted. The body was extremely light, and the weight of the entire car was about 21-cwt.
Performance was everything that the large-car enthusiast required. The car could accelerate from 0 to 50 m.p.h. in under 9 seconds, whilst, using top gear alone, a mere 21 seconds was occupied in reaching 70 m.p.h. from 20 m.p.h. The Brough also joined the select circle of sports cars which could exceed 100 m.p.h. in touring trim. The cars appeared frequently in competitions with success, particularly in Scottish events and notably the Bo'ness Speed Hill-climb, where George Brough put up best time in his class. An eight-cylinder car was also built with a modified Hudson engine (76xll4-mm., 4,168-c.c.), but this model was usually offered as a closed car. |
