New Delhi: A while back, media reports had said that Triumph is set to bring the smaller 350 cc range in April. The brand has now scheduled an event for April 6th-7th, signalling an imminent launch of the new range, which will benefit from a lower 18 per cent tax slab.
It is well known that Triumph, in partnership with Bajaj, is working on sub-350cc models for India in order to gain from the lower 18 per cent tax slab as opposed to the 40 per cent slab they currently fall under GST 2.0. This should allow Bajaj to price Triumph’s small-capacity range more competitively, helping it better the rival against the likes of Royal Enfield, which at present enjoys a heavy advantage having its core portfolio within the 350 cc mark.
The upcoming 350 c motor isn’t going to be a new unit, but more like a scaled-down version of the existing 400 cc platform. Even though much of the specifications aren’t known so far, it nis likely to have a lower displacement through a reduced bore, bringing it just under the 350 cc mark.
The reworked configuration could see a max power drop of 3-5 bhp as opposed to the present engine. The Triumph’s 399 cc liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine makes 40 bhp and 37.5 Nm of torque, with Thruxton having a little more at 42 bhp.
With Bajaj in the job of handling Triumph’s downsizing first, we expect the KTM 390 range, along with Bajaj’s own Dominar 400 and NS400Z, to be coming next as well. There is, of course, no information about the timeframe of these models’ arrival.