Royal Enfield has launched a new colour – Squadron Blue – on the Classic 500 range of motorcycles, priced at 1,86,688 (on-road, Delhi). The new shade has been inspired by the Indian Air Force and is a tribute by the bike maker for its well-established history with the armed forces. The new Squadron Blue Classic 500 variant is available for booking across all dealerships in India.
Unlike the Despatch edition that received a two-tone colour scheme, the Royal Enfield Squadron Blue Classic 500 gets a clean matte blue finish and takes inspiration from the post war design of the Royal Enfield motorcycles, whilst retaining the modern underpinnings. Apart from the new colour scheme, the special Classic 500 gets no mechanical changes with power coming from the same 499cc single-cylinder Twinspark engine tuned for 27.2bhp of power and 41.3Nm of torque. The motor is mated to a 5-speed transmission.
Royal Enfield’s association with the armed forces dates back to the World Wars, where the motorcycle was used extensively by the British Arm. The bike maker also received its first ever order from the Indian army in 1952 for 800 motorcycles, while manufacturing in India commenced from 1955 and has been a regular supplier to the Indian Army ever since. The Indian Air Force also started the use of Royal Enfield motorcycles in the 1950s and has been more popularly been used by the Air Force Poice.
Speaking on the new Squadron Blue colour, Mr. Rudratej Singh, President, Royal Enfield said, “The Classic 500 Squadron Blue is a tribute to Royal Enfield’s World War time presence and association with the armed forces. We wanted a variant with a genuine armed forces heritage for our customers and for this, Royal Enfield turned to the Indian Air Force for inspiration. We had to be very particular about the colour to create an authenticity and also provide the motorcycle its post war appeal.”
[“source-auto.ndtv”]