TVS Motor Company will be launching the much-awaited TVS Apache RTR 310 in July this year, CarandBike has learnt. While the exact launch date is yet to be finalised, TVS is getting ready to launch its first full-faired sportbike in the market. Based on the Akula concept showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo, the TVS Apache RTR 310 is built on the same engine platform as the upcoming BMW G 310 R - a bike jointly developed by BMW Motorrad and TVS. With the small-displacement BMW's launch delayed now, looks like TVS will be the first to release an all-new motorcycle with the 310 cc engine in the domestic market.
(TVS Akula 310 Concept)
The Apache RTR 310 is expected to be competitively priced, thanks to it being manufactured locally at TVS Motor Company's Hosur plant, and with components sourced from local vendors. So, expect a competitive launch price of around Rs 1.6-1.7 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Unlike the Akula concept though, which has carbon fibre bodywork, the RTR 310 will be built to its price and hi-end parts will be given a miss. But we expect to see the compact frame, split seats, clip-on handlebars, high-performance tyres, petal discs, dual channel ABS and much more on the Apache RTR 310.
The TVS Apache RTR 310 will be powered by the same engine as the BMW G 310 R - a single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, four-stroke 313 cc engine which has a reverse cylinder layout, with the intake pointing to the front and the exhaust towards the back. The engine is counterbalanced, so expect finesse and refinement in operation, with decent power output of 34 bhp at around 9500 pm and 28 Nm of peak torque. The TVS RTR 310 may have a slightly different state of tune on the engine, which is shared with the G 310 R.
(BMW G 310 R Production Engine)
Once launched, the TVS Apache RTR 310 will go head to head against the KTM RC 390, and even the Kawasaki Ninja 300 and the soon-to-be-launched Benelli 302R. Unlike the TVS and the KTM in this list, both the Kawasaki and the Benelli have parallel-twin engines, but in terms of price competitiveness, it's the KTM RC 390, and the TVS Apache RTR 310 which will have the upper hand. In fact, TVS could very well position the RTR 310 as the most affordable entry-level sportbike in the market. We will, of course, be riding the new TVS sportbike at a racetrack once the bike is launched, so look out for our first impressions of the bike in the next few months.
