Bangalore, India. This looks like the brand's best
chance yet not just to survive but to have a genuine
shot at being the global player it used to be.
To celebrate this return to the world stage,
Norton invited Cycle News to Seville in Southern
Spain to ride its new flagship sportsbike, the one
bearing the most famous Norton model name of
all, the Manx R.
Designed from a clean sheet of design paper
(or, rather, a computer screen, but let's not get
picky), the Manx R owes nothing to the previous
V4SV, which appeared under Garner's helm and
saw moderate success at the Isle of Man TT. That
machine was a full-blown superbike, a bike many
hoped would take Norton back to the kind of racing
success on which it built its reputation years earlier.
VOLUME 63 ISSUE 23 JUNE 9, 2026 P115
