On a wet September morning in 2017, a contingent of men from the elite National Security Guard, mounted fifteen spanking new Royal Enfield Stealth Black motorcycles and prepared to embark on a 40-day long road trip across India.
These able men had one single mission on their minds: to encourage the people of the country to partner with the armed forces in the ongoing anti-terrorism movement, by volunteering as their sensors on the ground and reporting early signs or suspicious activities to the authorities.
These were no ordinary men. They were members of the National Security Guard, making their message strong by adopting a conspicuous and public display of their mission, taking to the roads in an elegant formation on their starkly stylish Stealth Blacks.
People were drawn to them in droves, inquiring about their work, their ride and their mission. As they interacted with citizens and local police, they exhibited their martial skills and their weapons, all the while reinforcing the need of the hour – watchfulness and prompt action.
The men on their machines streaked across the quilted green of the countryside, eventually riding back triumphantly into the NSG Training Centre in Manesar. Flagged in by the Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri Venkaiah Naidu, they crossed much more than just their final milestone.
This momentous flag-in day, was also the NSG’s 33rd Raising Day, and commemorated not only the collective progress of the force in the field of counterterrorism – one that now encompassed public awareness and co-option – but it also celebrated each rider’s individual accomplishment and self-discovery.
After the ride was over, these 15 machines were put up for auction on the Royal Enfield website with the online sale aptly named - ‘Tribute to the Bravehearts’.The money generated from the sale was donated to Prerna, a non-profit initiative supported by the NSG for differently abled children.
To make these motorcycles stand apart from the standard Stealth Black motorcycles, each of them was given a special insignia commemorating the ride and the journey undertaken by the Black Cat commandos across the country.
In June 2018, a customised fleet of 8 Royal Enfield motorcycles, 10 HM Ambassadors, 2 tuk tuks and a Gujarati ‘chagda’ made up the ‘Concours d’éléphant’ - a cavalcade of designer inspired, quintessentially Indian vehicles - while 31 beautifully decorated sculptures from the Elephant Parade stood sentinel across Londonassadors for their cousins in the wild.
A play on the legendary Concours d'Elegance, this beautiful parade of vehicles was lovingly art infused inside and out by top artists, designers and fashion houses including House of Hackney, Boyarde, Dan Baldwin, Belstaff and Philip Colbert to name a few.
Labelled ‘from India with love’, Elephant Family’s eclectic new fundraising campaign threw a kaleidoscope of colour across the city of London while driving home a strong conservation message for the protection of Asia’s endangered elephants.
These motorcycles certainly had collectors and enthusiasts, as well as fashionistas vying for ownership. They were auctioned off at the Royal Hospital Chelsea on 28th June 2018 where the Belstaff-designed bike with its stand-out yellow tank grabbed a fair share of the eyeballs.
Proceeds from the auction of these customised motorcycles and other vehicles went towards the protection and conservation of Asia’s endangered Elephant population and towards building a safe haven for them.
With the whole world moving towards the trend of making things smaller in size yet big on impact, Royal Enfield was not about to be left behind. And so, in January 2019, the 1:12 scale model of the Royal Enfield Classic motorcycle was launched.
Initially these models, priced at INR 1200, were released only in the Classic Black or Desert Storm shade. Pre-bookings for the same were opened up on the Royal Enfield website, while deliveries happened May 2019.
Made by Maisto, these models were based on the 2018 Classic and were later on also available in many more colour schemes like, Ash, Gunmetal Grey, Redditch Red and Battle Green
These models sported the upswept exhaust which gave them a raised character. The kick-starter too was visible on the models, but the detailing didn’t stop just there. Royal Enfield also offered a steerable handlebar and working rear suspension along with a movable side stand to replicate the aesthetics of the Classic.
One of the star attractions at the Royal Enfield Garage Cafe has been the accurately detailed 1:5 scale model of the Royal Enfield Classic displayed in its glass case. Built by actually assembling individual made-to-scale parts, it has the hallmarks of an interesting project, or a DIY experiment for anyone who has the time and patience to build one himself.
