TWIN TWINS

TVS just bought itself a couple of lovely Nortons

- Alan Cathcart

The news that Norton, arguably the most historic British two-wheeled brand (a kind of Jaguar to Triumph’s, well, Triumph) has been purchased from the liquidator as a going concern by India’s TVS Motor for £16 million, appears to ensure the future of its current range of motorcycles developed under previous owner Stuart Garner. Indeed, it thus follows in the tye tracks of its four-wheeled Jaguar/Land Rover compatriot, which was acquired by Indian conglomerate Tata in 2008, and has since flourished.

With TVS confirming that Norton’s future range includes ‘the upcoming Atlas series’ it appears the Indian company will continue developing Norton’s new 650cc parallel-twin Atlas model range, production of which was slated to commence in December 2020, before Norton’s cash troubles ruled that out. Initially available in Nomad and Ranger street scrambler versions, one (Ranger) more decidedly dual purpose than the other, this was priced at the upper end of the middleweight market, with the Nomad retailing at £9,995 (₹ 9.47 lakh), and the Ranger at £11,995 (₹ 11.37 lakh). Compared to the Kawasaki Versys 650GT at £8,649 (₹ 8.20 lakh) in the UK, these two all-new motorcycles presaged a series of entry-level models in the Norton range, alongside its 1200 V4 Superbike family which entered production late in 2018.