- Prince William enquired about the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650
- The Duke of Cambridge was attending Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London
- Siddharth Lal, the head honcho of Royal Enfield, explained about the Twin model
- Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 are due for launch in UK and India soon
Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge in the British royal family, and his love towards two-wheelers need no introduction. The 35-year-old elder son of the Prince of Wales, Charles, and Princess Diana has an enviable collection of motorcycles that include Ducati 1198S Corse EVO SE, Ducati 1098R Bayliss Replica, Honda Super Blackbird, Triumph Daytona 600 and others.
The latest two-wheeled machine that got the attention of Prince William is Chennai-based Royal Enfield's flagship bike - Interceptor 650. The Duke of Cambridge checked out Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 during the 'Welcome to the UK' reception on the opening day of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London on April 16.
Siddharth Lal, the head honcho of Royal Enfield who was present at the venue, explained about the new motorcycle to Prince William. The Interceptor 650 is due for the UK market soon and it looks like Prince William already has an eye on it. Royal Enfield UK's social post says, "HRH seemed to be quite taken with the New Interceptor 650 & spent some time quizzing Royal Enfield CEO Siddhartha Lal about the soon to be available Twin."
In February, the Duke of Cambridge had visited Triumph Motorcycles' UK factory in Hinckley. Prince William even took to the saddle himself on one of Triumph's newest adventure motorcycles - Tiger 1200.
Royal Enfield, the niche bike-maker which has roots in the UK, unveiled Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 bikes at the EICMA show in Milan in 2017. The Interceptor 650 features a timeless classic British design. The rear set foot pegs, teardrop-shaped fuel tank, wide handlebar, sculpted single and long seat, twin shock absorbers, 18-inch spoke wheels as well as twin upswept exhausts, all celebrating the essence of the original Interceptor that was on sale in the 1970s.
Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 is powered by an all-new single overhead cam, air-cooled 648cc parallel-twin cylinder engine developed jointly by Royal Enfield's UK Technology Centre and Chennai teams. It develops 47bhp of power and 52Nm of torque mated to a five-speed transmission.