Royal Enfield, the iconic Indian motorcycle manufacturer owned by automotive giant Eicher Motors has launched its first twin-cylinder motorcycles in over 50 years. The motorcycles, the Continental GT650 a cafe racer and the Interceptor INT650, a roadster are an entry by the brand into the global mid-weight segment, a first since it became an Indian firm. The new motorcycles jointly developed in India and at Royal Enfield‘s international research and development centre in Bruntingthorpe, England will allow the bike maker to compete in this globally fast-growing segment between 500-800cc, which is currently dominated by motorcycle manufacturers such as Honda, Aprilla and BMW Motorrad.
The new twin-cylinder engines will develop 47 horsepower. Royal Enfield will manufacture these motorcycles out of their Chennai facility and at the launch at Santa Cruz, California, United States announced the prices for the starting variants as $5799 (Rs 4.25 lakh) for the Interceptor and $5999 (Rs 4.4 lakh) for the Continental, making them extremely competitive in their segment and while an Indian launch date was not revealed, it should allow Royal Enfield to garner a growing share of this segment in emerging markets as well as attract new fans to the brand in developed markets. In the United States, several well-known celebrities ride the brand. This launch should also provide a fillip to the Eicher Motors share price that has been mauled during the recent run on the markets.