Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 has been awarded the Best Retro Bike of the Year 2020 by MCN, UK. This is the top MCN honour for Royal Enfield for two years in a row, as the Interceptor 650 had won MCN’s Best Naked Motorcycle of the Year in 2019 as well. In addition, the Interceptor 650 has been dominating the mid-segment in the UK for a year and has been the best-selling middle-weight motorcycle in the UK consistently over the past 12-15 months. This is a truly remarkable achievement for an Indian motorcycle brand. This response to the Interceptor 650 has propelled Royal Enfield to become one of the fastest-growing motorcycle brands in the UK.
Launched in September 2018, the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 is the quintessential roadster and has garnered immense popularity across the globe. This has helped the motorcycle to emerge as a tough-to-beat rival, by winning several awards and accolades across the world. In India, the Interceptor 650 had swept all awards in 2018-19 and had won the prestigious awards such as- Indian Motorcycle Of The Year 2018. It continues to perform exceedingly and has not only attracted existing Royal Enfield owners but also a lot of first-time buyers. Post the launch of the Interceptor 650 in India in 2018, the upper end (500cc and above) of the mid-sized motorcycling segment has grown over four times, between FY 2019 and FY 2020, with the Interceptor 650 leading the segment with 80% market share.
The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 has impressed motorcycle enthusiasts globally with its performance and authentic classic style. It retains much of the original design cues from the original Interceptor, which was popular in the US back in the 1960s. With its teardrop tank, traditional knee recesses and wide braced handlebars, the Interceptor reminisces the street scrambler style that emerged in ’60s California. It’s comfortable and commanding riding position makes the Interceptor both fun and practical on all types of terrain.
Royal Enfield is also working on some new bikes which will make use of the same 650cc parallel-twin engine which powers the Interceptor. Among these, a cruiser has already been spotted and by the looks of it, the bike appears to be in a pre-production state. Expect a lot of exciting Royal Enfield launches in the next year.