Norton has sold a manufacturing licence for its upcoming 650cc parallel-twin engine to Chinese company Zongshen.
The as-yet-unreleased engine is basically one bank of the new 1200cc V4 that Norton has created with the help of engine development experts Ricardo. A small increase in either bore or stroke – probably the latter – gives it a 650cc capacity to match twins such as Suzuki’s SV650 and Kawasaki’s Ninja 650.
When Norton gets around to producing the engine, it’s set to power a new tier of models that will become the entry level for the British brand. If the company’s plans come to fruition, the engine could eventually power everything from adventure bikes to sportsbikes, and there’s even talk of a supercharged version.
Norton plans to show the first bike with the new engine late this year.
The deal with Zongshen, claimed to be worth millions of pounds up front and carrying a per-engine royalty for Norton, will see the Chinese firm building its own version of the new motor. While Norton promises that all bikes carrying its name will use British-made engines, the Chinese derivative is likely to power a new range of Zongshen machines to rival the 650cc parallel
twins offered by CFMoto.
Zongshen also produces engines for other companies, so the British-designed unit could eventually appear in a host of machines under a variety of names.
While the financial details of the deal haven’t been revealed,
the income should provide a useful boost to Norton. The British company’s plans can’t be faulted for their ambition, but we’re still waiting for production to start on the V4 superbike that it showed last year.
By BEN PURVIS
