Earlier this year, Austrian motorcycle brand Brixton announced its entry into the Indian market in partnership with KAW Veloce Motors Pvt. Ltd. The company revealed that it initially plans to launch four motorcycles which are designed at Brixton’s Austrian design centre, and manufactured in a new state-of-the-art facility owned by KAW Veloce in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.
The joint venture recently announced the name of the models to go on sale in India. Brixton will launch two 1200cc models in the form of Cromwell 1200 and Cromwell 1200X, and two 500c bikes namely Crossfire 500X and Crossfire 500 XC. All four models embody the brand’s neo-retro design philosophy, a segment which continues to range in the premium motorcycle market.
Brixton India motorcycles
Starting with the Crossfire range, while the 500X is a road-biased neo-retro roadster, the 500 XC is a scrambler designed for soft trails. Both motorcycles are powered by a 486cc twin-cylinder engine delivering 47 bhp at 8,500 rpm and 43 Nm at 6,750 rpm. The latter gets updated hardware in the form of rugged dual-purpose tyres and longer suspension travel.
The flagship Cromwell duo also follow the same pattern. While the Cromwell 1200 is a neo-retro roadster, the 1200X is a scramble with the same powertrain and chassis plonked to the setup. Powering the Cromwell range is a 1,222cc twin-cylinder liquid-cooled engine which dishes out 82 bhp at 6,250rpm and a peak torque of 108 Nm at 3,100rpm. This engine comes mated to a 6-speed gearbox.
Being the flagship, we can expect more premium components from the 1200cc range. For instance, the both 1200cc bikes benefit from KYB sourced telescopic forks and a monoshock at the back perform the absorbing duties. The Cromwell 1200X is expected to offer more travel on account of being a proper scrambler with more than decent off-roading capabilities.
Brixton’s India roadmap
In the making for two years, the partnership between Brixton and KAW Veloce have outlined a two-phase expansion plan. In the first phase, the JV intends to establish a production facility with an annual capacity of over 40,000 units in Kolhapur. The objective is to introduce the existing Brixton motorcycle range, with engine capacities ranging from 500cc to 1200cc.
Phase two will see joint development of products specifically for the Indian market at Brixton’s Austria Design Center, alongside expanded manufacturing capabilities. The first set of motorcycles will make their India debut later this year around the upcoming festive season.
With the onset of phase 2, this new JV will gear up to launch the Storr 500 in India. The upcoming 500cc adventure tourer is expected to break cover globally at the end of this year. This new adventure bike could lock horns with ADVs like Benelli TRK 502, Honda NX500, KTM 390 Adventure and Royal Enfield Himalayan 450.
Brixton further confirmed its MotoHaus-inspired sales outlets will initially be launched in 13 key cities including Pune/PCMC, Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Cochin, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vapi, and Panjim.
(With inputs from PTI)
