NORTON MOTORCYCLES ENTERS ADMINISTRATION
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of Gevi SpA, the investment bank then holding a
controlling 57.75 percent interest in MV, to counte-
nance the deal—though not before MV's legendary
designer Massimo Tamburini had created the mak-
ings of a born-again Norton Commando!
IIHOW GARNER TOOK CONTROL
Instead, two years later, Curme sold Norton to
British entrepreneur Stuart Garner, a former
gamekeeper-turned property investor, who'd be-
come Britain's leading importer of fireworks from
China. Together with the Norton brand came the
prototype air-cooled Commando 961 OHV parallel-
twin street bike, which Curme had commissioned
from the USA's number-one Norton technical guru,
Oregon-based Kenny Dreer.
Norton's current Executive Director and
Head of Design, Simon Skinner, joined the new
company in February 2009 from Triumph as one
of Stuart Garner's first appointments, and he's
remained with the firm ever since. After Norton
was established in a compact 8000 sqft start-up
