More road-focused Royal Enfield Himalayan on the way?

There are few models on sale as charming as the Royal Enfield Himalayan and it seems the dinky Indian manufactured adventure machine is about to grow in appeal with the launch of a more road-focused variant.

Though not exactly renowned for being a hardcore off-roader with its modest 24.3bhp from the a small but eager 411cc powerplant, the Himalayan has found a niche with its rugged utilitarian styling that blends classic Royal Enfield signatures in a modern silhouette.

As such, it appears Royal Enfield will expand the Himalayan’s appeal with the launch of a new road-focused model that loses some of the existing model’s go-anywhere abilities in favour of a more refined on-road experience.

First revealed in spy shots posted to the Indianautosblog.com website, a clay scale model of the Himalayan appears to confirm its existence.

While there appears to be little difference to the standard Himalayan at first glance, a closer look shows it is missing the large front windscreen and front rack, while the front wheel is smaller and the rear-end has been smoothened for a less upright stance.

For those hoping this could be the much anticipated ‘big Himalayan’ fitted with the 650cc engine from the Interceptor and Continental GT, the ‘411’ markings otherwise suggest it will come with the same engine and power output.

That said, the engine is likely to be tweaked to provide a smoother delivery to give it more long-range GT-style refinement.

This revised Himalayan is the latest in a line of new Royal Enfield models on the way from the Indian firm as it looks to capitalise on an export growth that surged 97% in July  2021, spurred on  by the successful launch of the new Meteor 350.