Historic brand back by end of the year
NEW OWNERS OF HISTORIC BRAND BRINGING OUT 1200CC SUPERBIKE
THE first bikes from Norton under its new ownership will be rolling off the production line by the end of the year.
Promoting the V4SS, chief executive John Russell said the new team had been working flat-out to rebuild the business after the calamitous end to its previous ownership.
TVS Motor Company bought Norton, based in Castle Donington, in April.
The business had gone into administration under previous owner Stuart Garner, owing hundreds of thousands of pounds and with customers desperate to know where their deposits had gone.
When the buyout deal was done, TVS described it as a moment o u s occasion and that its aspirations were to help the historic brand – founded in Birmingham in 1898 – regain its “rightful glory”.
Mr Russell joined the business having previously worked as managing director of European operations for Harley Davidson and in senior roles with Rover, Land Rover and MG. Promoting the carbon- bodied V4SS, he said: “TVS bought Norton because it was a once-in-ageneration opportunity to buy one of the great brands in the motorcycle industry.
“It’s our job, our goal, to make sure the foundations we lay now create the real potential for us to unlock this brand and deliver its potential long-term.
“Much of what we are working on today so intensely is invisible to our customers and our enthusiasts – but at the heart of what we are doing is this bike.
“It will be the first bike available from the new Norton, at the end of this year.”
Norton said the hand-built bikes – 200 of which are being made – “redefines” the British superbike.
The 1,200cc road bike runs on a chassis developed for the Isle of Man TT races.
It’s our job to make sure the foundations we lay now create the real potential for us to unlock this brand John Russell