Although the rapid rise of the Chinese motorcycle industry has been turning heads in recent years, India’s vast motorcycle industry could also overturn the existing hierarchy. TVS, India’s third-largest manufacturer, has already sprung onto the world stage by partnering with BMW on manufacturing and by buying the storied Norton Motorcycles brand. New patent filings hint that its most recent concept models could be heading for production just in time to capitalize on the company’s expansion into new markets.
The TVS RTR HyprStunt concept, unveiled late last year, has now reemerged in official patent filings in India. Stripped of the original show bike’s gaudy paintwork, the designs make it clear that the underpinnings have a good chance of reaching showrooms.Featuring the company’s new 299cc, DOHC single-cylinder engine packed into a conventional steel trellis frame, the HyprStunt’s chassis and powertrain are completely production-viable. The engine is already rolling off the lines, fitted to the brand’s new Apache RTX adventure bike, and looks set to be at the heart of a whole range of new models. The “RTR” portion of the HyprStunt’s name aligns it with TVS’s existing line of naked roadsters, currently topped by the Apache RTR 310, which is essentially a restyled BMW G 310 R.
Just as India’s Bajaj builds small KTM models and Triumph’s 400cc singles, TVS has manufactured BMW’s G 310 range on the German brand’s behalf ever since its introduction, and has produced its own versions in the form of the Apache RTR 310 and the fully-faired Apache RR 310 sportbike.The BMW G 310 range wasn’t updated to meet the current Euro5+ emissions standards and will be replaced by the twin-cylinder F 450 models—also built by TVS for BMW. With that in mind, and given TVS’s stated intentions of expanding its exports to Europe, it’s logical that its new single-cylinder engine could find its way into a whole line of motorcycles intended to supersede the current BMW-designed models.
Accordingly, the RTR HyprStunt could be poised to replace the Apache RTR 310. In performance terms, the TVS single is essentially on a par with the BMW unit. TVS claims it pumps out 36 horsepower as utilized in the Apache RTX, compared to 35.6 horsepower for the BMW-powered Apache RTR 310.
What, then, of TVS’s sportiest model, the Apache RR 310? Another concept shown last November hints at its replacement. Dubbed the Tangent RR, it packs a parallel-twin engine that’s closely related to the BMW-designed/TVS-built F 450 engine. Incidentally, the Norton Atlas’s 585cc twin also bears some striking similarities to the BMW engine, albeit with a larger capacity and a 270-degree crank instead of the German manufacturer’s oddball 135-degree design.
The Tangent RR is more clearly in the “concept” camp than the HyprStunt, with an array of high-end components including Öhlins suspension and Brembo’s latest Hypure radial calipers, but its chassis and engine are much more closely aligned with production expectations and could find their way, along with a toned-down version of the styling, into a future range-topping model.
