Chennai-based motorcycle maker Royal Enfield is inching closer to the debut of its most important and flagship motorcycle. The global unveiling of the 750cc motorcycle is expected to take place at the EICMA show in Milan in November.
While the company has not divulged any details on the upcoming models, multiple reports claims Royal Enfield will name it as Interceptor. The name, however, is not new to the company. It comes from the bike in same name which Royal Enfield produced in 1960s and 70s when it was a fully British entity. The previous Interceptor models were sold only in the US and Canada.
Royal Enfield introduced 700 Interceptor in 1960. The bike had a tuned version of the company's biggest engine, the 692 cc vertical-twin. A total of 158 units of the 700 Interceptors were made as per the Redditch factory dispatch ledgers held by the Royal Enfield Owners Club in the UK.
The company introduced Series 1 Interceptor in 1962 with 736cc twin-cylinder engine. It was manufactured until 1966. The Series 1A Interceptor was introduced in 1967, with two sub models GP7 and TT7. Subsequently, the company also introduced the Series 2 Interceptor with a major redesign in engine over Series 1A engine. Later Royal Enfield made a prototype Series 3 Interceptor to replace the Series 2. However, the company went bankrupt before mass production was realised.
Royal Enfield currently sells Continental GT cafe racer in India as well as global markets and its design has been heavily influenced from the prototype Series 3 Interceptor. Hence, in many ways the name Interceptor is connected with the history of Royal Enfield brand.
The new 750cc motorcycle
The upcoming model has been caught on camera on a number of occasions in India and abroad already. The motorcycle's parallel-twin 750cc engine is rumoured to churn out 45-50bhp and a peak torque of more than 60Nm. This 750cc vehicle will be the first motorcycle developed by the Royal Enfield Technology Centre in Britain. Royal Enfield Interceptor will be pitted against Harley-Davidson Street 750.
