Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 to be launched soon, with India as one of the first markets

Royal Enfield unveiled the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650 at the EICMA show in Milan in November 2017.

Royal Enfield, the Chennai-based cruiser and classic bike specialist, glamourized its Thunderbird family of bikes with the new X range priced from Rs 1.56 lakh ex-showroom Delhi. However, the most important launch from the motorcycle-maker this year is the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 twins, and emerging reports indicate the twins will be launched in India.

Rudratej Singh aka Rudy, the president at Royal Enfield Motors Limited, confirmed during an interview with CarBlogIndia that India will be one of the first markets to get the twins (Interceptor 650, Continental GT 650).

"We are still in the testing stage and we will be in the manufacturing stage soon," Rudy said.

Royal Enfield unveiled the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650 at the EICMA show in Milan in November 2017. A unit of the Interceptor 650 was spotted being tested last month near Oragadam, Chennai, where all three Royal Enfield manufacturing units are located.

This indicated that the India launch of Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 was not far. Royal Enfield is expected to launch the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 in India in mid-2018 and bookings likely to start in April.

Royal Enfield Continental GT 650Royal Enfield

Among the new flagship motorcycles, the Interceptor 650 captures the essence of the classic mile-munching bikes which Royal Enfield produced in the 1960s and 70s, when it was a fully British entity.

On the other hand, the new Continental GT 650 is a café racer, which is quite a popular bike segment in global markets. Ahead of the arrival of Continental GT 650, Royal Enfield has now halted the sales of Continental GT powered by the 535cc engine in India.

The twin models are powered by a four-stroke, single overhead cam, air-cooled 648cc parallel-twin cylinder engine developed jointly by Royal Enfield's UK Technology Centre and Chennai teams.

The new engine has an output capability of 47bhp and 52Nm torque. It will come mated to five-speed transmission.