Caterham Group has officially announced the creation of Caterham Bikes, its first ever motorcycle division. The new motorcycle maker debuts at the International Motorcycle Exhibition (EICMA) in Milan (November 5-10).
Caterham Bikes will display three prototype products at the show: the Brutus 750 (dubbed the “SUV of motorcycles”), Classic E-Bike (an all-electric bike with retro styling) and the Carbon E-Bike (a premium electric bike inspired by F1 technology).
Fitted with an automatic transmission, the Brutus 750 can operate as a street bike, off-road machine or even a snowmobile, with the conversion process taking less than four hours. A tribute to the golden age of British motorcycling, the Classic E-Bike has a range of 40-80 km (25-50 miles) and can be driven without a license in the EU.
Finally, the Carbon E-Bike is a premium bike with modern styling inspired by F1 technology. Caterham is mulling a limited edition version featuring exclusive F1 input and materials. Production of the bikes will begin in spring 2014, with the Brutus 750 the first to be built, followed by the two electric bikes later in the year.
Caterham Bikes’ key growth market will be Asia, where there’s strong demand for such vehicles, but the products will also be sold in Europe, North America and South America.
Just like its cars, Caterham says the bikes will deliver “accessible fun” and will carry the brand’s DNA of British heritage, performance and intuitive handling. Caterham Bikes will be managed by Al-Ishsal Ishak, the company’s CEO. Ishak was previously Group Head of Ancillary Income at AirAsia, the budget airline company owned by Caterham Group’s owners Tony Fernandes and Dato’ Kamarudin.
By Dan Mihalascu
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