Royal Enfield Interceptor, Continental GT 650: When can we expect India launch?

The Interceptor and Continental GT 650 of Royal Enfield made India debut at the 2017 Rider Mania held in Goa last November after its global debut at the EICMA show in Milan.

Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, Continental GT 650 — Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 are brand's new flagship motorcycles.Royal Enfield

After launching the jazzed up Thunderbird 350X, 500X urban cruisers, Royal Enfield is believed to be in the final stages of bringing its flagship motorcycles to India. The Chennai based two-wheeler maker's new flagship products, the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 is reportedly getting readied for the market launch here after April 2018.

Royal Enfield has already stated that the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 are destined from European markets first of which is due in April. This indicates India launch is not too far and we believe it will happen in May-June this year.

Ahead of the launch, Royal Enfield dealers are expected to start bookings for both 650cc twins from mid-May. Royal Enfield had showcased the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650 for the first time at the EICMA show in Milan in November 2017. Later in the same month, India debut took place at Rider Mania.

Royal Enfield Interceptor 650Royal Enfield

A unit of the Interceptor 650 was recently spotted while testing near Oragadam, Chennai, where all three Royal Enfield manufacturing units are located. This indicates the flagship motorcycles are currently undergoing final testing.

Royal Enfield Twin's new engine

Both the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650 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 mill develops 47bhp of power and 52Nm of torque mated to a five-speed transmission.

Royal Enfield Continental GTRoyal Enfield

The Interceptor 650 has a classic bike design ethos that has more takers in India. It captures the essence of the yesteryears mile-munching bikes which Royal Enfield produced in the 1960s and 70s when it was a fully British entity. The Continental GT 650, on the other hand, 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.

Source: Overdrive