Norton V4CR in production By Ben Purvis
Only a year after rescuing the remains of Norton from bankruptcy in 2020, its new Indian owners - TVS - bankrolled a naked Café Racer concept based on the company's 1200 cc V4 superbike. Now that machine is in production with 200 examples set to reach customers over the coming months.
Called the V4CR, the Café Racer might borrow its engine and chassis from the V4SV superbike, making it a relatively straightforward creation, but TVS discovered that the superbike itself required a huge amount of reengineering to be sure of reliability, so it's taken until now to get into production.
That reengineering dropped the V4 engine's power from 200 hp to 185 hp, a figure that's carried over from the V4SV to the V4CR, but it still hasn't resulted in Euro 5 emissions certification. The low volume nature of the bike's production, at least for now, means it's easier for Norton to use Single Vehicle Approval rules in the UK, allowing bikes to be individually approved for use, instead of applying for full type-approval. The emissions limits are much more relaxed under this regime, avoiding the need to comply with Euro 5.
That means the majority of the 200 examples of the V4CR are expected to find buyers in the UK, but since Norton is still in a 'ramping-up' stage, this might be beneficial at the moment. Future versions of the V4 are likely to need Euro 5 certification to allow access to wider markets.
As far as specifications go, the V4CR's 185 horses arrive at 12,000 rpm, with 125 Nm of torque at 9,000 rpm, pushing a machine that weighs in at 204 kg, including a full 15-litre tank of fuel. The engine sits in an aluminium frame, TIG-welded by hand and equipped with Öhlins suspension - NIX30 forks and TTXGP shock - and Brembo monobloc brakes. Electronics include lean-sensitive traction control, an up/down quickshifter with auto-blipper, and three riding modes. There's also keyless ignition and a six-inch TFT dash, plus full LED lighting.
Buyers spending £41,999 (roughly € 49,000/$55,000) on the V4CR will have to choose between two versions. The Manx Platinum option includes silver paint and forged alloy OZ Racing Piega wheels, while the Carbon model has bare carbon fibre bodywork and BST Rapidtek rims made of the same material.
Yes, you could get more performance for far less money - just buy a Ducati Streetfighter V4 or an Aprilia Tuono V4 for a similar recipe at a lower price - but recent successes of high-priced, low-volume bikes suggest Norton won't have too much trouble finding 200 customers for the V4CR.
