First product of Triumph-Bajaj collaboration pushed back to 2023
The first product of the Triumph-Bajaj collaboration won't be coming as imminently as hoped, according to reports in India
There are several new motorcycles we’re looking forward to clasping out eyes on in 2021 and one of the most intriguing was set to be the first product of Triumph and Bajaj Auto’s much vaunted collaboration.
After a few years of negotiations, Triumph and Bajaj - one of India’s foremost manufacturers - formally confirmed they will enter into an agreement that will see a raft of new models be built in India yet be offered globally.
We were expecting to see the first hint of a new model in 2021 but reports in India say this has been pushed back a fair while due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, with the inaugural Triumph-Bajaj instead set to come in 2023 according to India Car News.
This is a shame, predominantly for the fact we were very curious to see which model would be the first fruit of their labour since Triumph - despite our best efforts - staying very confidential on the matter and revealing nothing about what it could be.
However, it doesn’t stop us from cranking up the rumour mill for a bit of speculation…
Since the collaboration is geared towards developing a range of smaller displacement models better suited to the Asian market, the fact they will also be offered in the UK and Europe suggests they could be more affordable versions of the existing line-up.
We would hazard a guess that the first model to appear will be a 300-400cc version of the Triumph Bonneville, a machine that has iconic status globally and would be a perfect Indian rival for the recently launched - and already hot selling - Royal Enfield Meteor 350 and Honda CB350 H’ness.
Beyond that, we would be very keen to see a ‘Tiger Cub’ emerge from the collaboration, plus a smaller Street Triple and - even better - a Kawasaki ZX-25R and Honda CBR250R rivalling Daytona 250 to keep the famous nameplate in circulation.
