Royal Enfield unveiled two new models at EICMA, the 2018 Interceptor (left) and Continental GT (right). Both are powered by a new 648cc parallel twin (center). From left to right are Simon Warburton, Head of Product Development; Siddartha Lal, CEO; Rudratej Singh, President; and Mark Wells, Head of Product Strategy and Industrial Design. Photo courtesy of Royal Enfield.
Royal Enfield is in the midst of a revival. It never really died (read the story here), but like most manufacturers it?s had its share of tough times. After decades as a relatively domestic Indian brand, Royal Enfield CEO Siddartha Lal has a newly global vision: expand into other developing markets such as Latin America and Southeast Asia, and return the brand to its former glory in the European and U.S. markets. He isn?t interested in carving up the existing pie into smaller pieces, however. As he stood before a large contingent of moto journalists from around the world in Royal Enfield?s brand-new U.K. Technical Center at the Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground, he explained that his vision is to grow the market. Draw in new riders, make people excited about motorcycles again. It?s easy to get behind an idea like that. Royal Enfield’s new UK Tech Center employs about 130 designers and engineers. Pictured here is one of the design departments, with conceptual models under covers and away from prying journalists’ eyes.
The new U.K. Tech Center, located about 11 miles from Leicester in central England, ...