A Fusion of Two Icons: The Genesis of RMB01 – Few collaborations in the world of luxury and engineering are as unexpected—and as captivating—as the alliance between Swiss watchmaking house Richard Mille and legendary motorcycle marque Brough Superior. Announced at the 2025 Le Mans Classic, the RMB01 is the tangible result of an 18-month creative dialogue between Richard Mille, a name synonymous with avant-garde horology, and Brough Superior, the historic “Rolls-Royce of motorcycles.” This union has yielded a machine that is both a technical marvel and a kinetic work of art, limited to just 150 individually numbered examples.
Richard Mille: Racing Machines for the Wrist and Beyond
Since its foundation in 2001, Richard Mille has redefined the boundaries of contemporary watchmaking. The brand’s philosophy is rooted in three pillars: technological innovation, architectural design, and uncompromising craftsmanship. Mille’s watches are instantly recognisable for their skeletonised movements, use of cutting-edge materials such as titanium, carbon TPT®, and ceramics, and a design ethos inspired by motorsport and aerospace.
Richard Mille’s passion for speed and engineering has led to high-profile collaborations with automotive and motorsport icons, most notably McLaren. The RM 65-01 McLaren W1, for instance, is a chronograph that draws direct inspiration from McLaren’s supercars, blending technical complexity with extreme resilience. These partnerships are more than branding exercises – they are deep technical exchanges, resulting in watches that can withstand the rigours of Formula 1 and the world’s most demanding environments.
Brough Superior: The Legend of Two Wheels
Founded by George Brough in Nottingham in 1919, Brough Superior quickly earned a reputation for producing the world’s finest motorcycles, each one assembled and tested to the highest standards of the era. The SS100, perhaps the most celebrated model, was guaranteed to reach 100 mph—a remarkable feat in the 1920s and 1930s. Brough Superiors were the motorcycles of choice for adventurers and record-breakers, including T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, who famously owned seven of these machines.
Production ceased during World War II, but the brand was revived in 2013 by Thierry Henriette and Albert Castaigne in France. Today’s Brough Superior motorcycles continue to embody the spirit of their forebears: hand-built, technically advanced, and uncompromising in quality, with innovations such as structural carbon frames, four-disc braking systems, and Fior-type forks.
The RMB01: Technical Brilliance Meets Watchmaking Aesthetics
The RMB01 is a track-focused motorcycle that channels the spirit of early 20th-century board track racers. Its design is a study in dynamic minimalism: a slimline fuel tank, minimalist seat, and a fully exposed engine, all rendered in taut, feline lines that evoke constant motion.
Key Technical Features
Engine: 997cc water-cooled DOHC 88° V-twin, machined from solid 5000-series aluminium alloy. Through painstaking hollowing and optimisation, just 23kg of finished parts remain from 160kg of raw material. The engine delivers 130 bhp, prioritising usable power and flexibility for track performance.
Chassis: A self-supporting forged carbon exoskeleton, echoing the skeletonised architecture of Richard Mille’s watches. The chassis connects all mechanical subassemblies much like the bridges in a high-end movement.
Suspension: Fior-type fork with double articulated wishbones, a hallmark of Brough Superior’s engineering, offering separation of steering and braking for enhanced stability and anti-dive under braking.
Wheels: Custom lightweight alloy wheels assembled in layers, inspired by the gear trains of watch movements. The overlapping hubs and disc rotors mimic the mechanical stacking of a tourbillon.
Instrumentation: The dashboard features a visible mechanical speedometer with gear assemblies, a direct nod to the intricate displays of Richard Mille timepieces.
Finishes: Available in three distinct versions—Nocturnal Sapphire (midnight blue), Selene (matte grey with orange accents), and Pearl of Speed (pearl white with red details). Each is hand-assembled in France and individually numbered.
Watchmaking Parallels
The RMB01’s extensive use of skeletonisation, visible mechanics, and precision machining directly reflect Richard Mille’s horological DNA.
Materials such as titanium and carbon fibre, hallmarks of Mille’s watches, are integral to the motorcycle’s construction, ensuring both lightness and strength.
The design of elements like the divided rims and the aesthetic treatment of the engine casings are inspired by the architecture of tourbillon calibres.
The Art of Mechanical Emotion
The RMB01 stands as a rare bridge between two worlds obsessed with precision, innovation, and the celebration of mechanical beauty. A relentless pursuit of excellence drives both Richard Mille and Brough Superior, a refusal to compromise, and a desire to elicit emotion through engineering. In the RMB01, the codes of haute horlogerie, transparency, structural artistry, and technical audacity, are seamlessly translated into the language of high-performance motorcycling. The result is not only a superb motorcycle but also a moving sculpture, a demonstration of what happens when the finest traditions of watchmaking and motorcycle engineering come together on the open track.
