Two-wheeled war hero rides into sunshine: Norton's legacy finds new life

For bike lovers, the name Norton Motorcycles does not spell just any old two-wheeler — it’s a British design classic and a massive World War II (WW2) icon. In the 1950s, it was a Norton that the dashing revolutionary Che Guevara picked for his journey of self-discovery through Latin America, memorably captured in the book and movie The Motorcycle Diaries. More recently, James Bond, that other quintessentially British icon, rode it in the movie Spectre. 

 

This was a brand that seemed destined to stay on the big stage — before taking a tumble as demand and funds dried up. Today, it is being showcased as the curtain lifts on the world's most popular two-wheeler auto show, EICMA (Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo Motociclo e Accessori), in Milan, Italy. It marks the start of a unique brand revival script with four new models that Norton’s Indian owners hope will take it once again to the global stage.

 

Founded by James Lansdowne Norton in Birmingham in 1898, Norton started making motorbikes in 1902. It became widely popular as a racing bike, grabbing eyeballs at races such as the Isle of Man TT. It symbolised freedom, rebellion, and technological prowess, particularly during the two World Wars. The rugged WD 16H model stood out as a reliable dispatch and reconnaissance vehicle for the British and allied forces. The UK produced more than 100,000 Nortons for war purposes.

 

Its most famous models are the Dominator and Commando, while the Norton Interpol was a model widely associated with the UK police. Most of its vintage bikes are now collectors’ items. 

Come 2025, the two-wheeled war hero, now owned by TVS Motor, is betting big on this global appeal, legacy, and updated technology to try and create a new success story. The brand came into the hands of TVS Motor in 2020, after it went into administration under the previous owners. At the time, the company was struggling to fulfil its order book after its previous owner, Stuart Garner, allegedly engaged in fraudulent activities, including misappropriation of pension funds.  

The comeback 

TVS Motor’s acquisition of Norton was seen as a strategy to strengthen its global presence, particularly in Europe and North America, where there is a strong demand for high-performance motorcycles. The company has so far invested around £250 million in Norton.

 

“We want to bring the rich World War II legacy of Norton as an iconic brand. We bought Norton because we believe that the brand has certain potential. It also stands for certain core values of design, dynamism, and detail. That potential, with our capability and exciting products built in a modern way, we could create the world’s most desirable motorcycle. That is really the vision for Norton," said Sudarshan Venu, chairman and managing director, TVS Motor.

 

Post-acquisition, the company launched a “Resurgence” programme for reviving the brand. It roped in former Manchester United chief executive Richard Arnold to take charge of downstream business operations, former Jaguar Land Rover expert Nevijo Mance for upstream operations as executive director and veteran car designer Gerry McGovern, the chief creative officer at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), as an advisor for the Resurgence programme.

 

The company is planning to come up with a series of new models in the immediate future, with four being showcased at EICMA and two in 2026. These will include two four-cylinder, state-of-the-art models, the Manx and Manx R. Another will be the rugged bike Atlas, a premium bike from Norton’s storied history. “We are creating Atlas as a modern, luxury, and cutting-edge all-round bike with two cylinders. The Atlas will be completely reimagined in a modern way,” Venu said. The Atlas will be manufactured in India. 

Since each of these products will be placed in the super-premium category, they are likely to compete with bikes such as the Kawasaki Ninja H2R (₹79.9 lakh), Ducati Panigale V4 R (₹70 lakh), BMW M 1000 RR (₹49 lakh), and Harley-Davidson Road Glide Special (₹42 lakh).

 

In other words, Norton is poised to become TVS’s global premium flagship, with commercial production scheduled to begin in the third or fourth quarter of FY26 and full-scale European launches in FY27, followed by India. “The brand will initially roll out three models and their variants (totalling six), backed by a focused country-level marketing and distribution strategy. These investments not only enable TVS to enter high-margin premium segments but also support global brand visibility and technology transfer across platforms, reinforcing its ambition to become a formidable global mobility player,” said an Axis Direct report. 

Norton said production of some of its models has already started at its headquarters in Solihull, near Birmingham. 

 

The future 

Industry experts believe that TVS Motor may well be able to create a cult wave around Nortons in India, similar to the Royal Enfield, another iconic British motorcycle that is now in Indian hands (Eicher). The Norton’s status was duly stamped when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Keir Starmer posed with the bike after sealing the India-UK trade deal in July. 

“It has unique agility in handling and has a lot of electronics and safety, which are part of the Norton values. It will be priced in a way that reflects the unique nature of the product,” Venu added, when asked about pricing.  

Biking enthusiast Rahul Mehta, founder of Mumbai-based Bikers Club, said: “Royal Enfield has captured the entire market of riding in India. The success of a new player will depend on services, roadside assistance, and how they build a community. The Indian market is very price-sensitive; even Harley-Davidson, Triumph, and several others could not make a mark as expected. You need to understand the emotions of riders in India; it doesn’t matter whether the brand has a cult status or not.”

 

In some ways, the collaboration marks a journey for not only Norton, but also TVS, the company that became synonymous with the humble household moped in the 1980s.  

Today, TVS Motor holds a 19 per cent share in the Indian two-wheeler market, after Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India. In two-wheeler electric vehicles, it is the number one brand, having sold more than 22,500 units in September.

“What we’ve designed, and what has been meticulously developed across the company’s engineering team, is a range of motorcycles that I’m sure is going to both surprise and delight the world. It’s a new direction, for sure, but one that is sensitive to what has gone before, blending our rich heritage with a bold new future,” said Norton’s Head of Design Simon Skinner last month. 

The Solihull unit is positioned as a global centre of excellence for motorcycles, with over £200 million invested in it to date. Norton said that its Resurgence strategy underscores a firm undertaking to support the brand’s long-term growth, which has already seen the workforce increase by 25 per cent since the start of 2025 in readiness for a new era of global expansion.