Countless motorcycle manufacturers popped up in the 1920s and ?30s in Britain, but somehow, none quite as cool as Vincent. High-end speed machines, combining old-school big-displacement twins, monochrome finishes and titillating names like Rapide and Black Shadow, a Vincent V-twin welcomes you into any roundtable of motorcycling, and it?s not hard to see why. A seat rarely opens at the Vincent Owners Club, even more so when you?re talking about an ultra-rare first-series Rapide.

One of just 79 built, the Series-A Rapide represents Vincent?s first foray into V-twins?an endeavor that established Vincent as the superbike of the day. There are faster Vincents, and on occasion more valuable ones, but the rarity and significance of the Series-A Rapide is hard to overstate. As such, this restored 1938 Rapide highlights Bonhams? upcoming Spring Stafford Sale with an estimated hammer price of $300,854 to $350,997. While Vincent didn?t pioneer the V-twin, their execution is at least worthy of an honorable mention. Philip Vincent?s start in motorcycles echoes many of his peers of the era, becoming interested in bikes at a young age and crafting a few ?specials? of his own design in the late 1920s. At age 20, Vincent filed a patent for a cantilevered rear suspension design, and with backing from his family, he purchased the financially troubled HRD brand from Howard R Davies in 1928.

After tacking his own name above the HRD logo, Vincent picked up where Davies left off building s...