Pierre Terblanche, part of Royal Enfield family

Take a moment to welcome Pierre Terblanche, the renowned designer, who has joined the iconic Indian two-wheeler manufacturer, Royal Enfield. The design pioneer hails from South Africa and started his career with the renowned car manufacturer Volkswagen before switching over to two-wheels. His stint with two-wheeler journey  commenced with Italian bike maker Cagiva. There, he worked at its research centre at San Marino. Under the guidance of design genius Massimo Tamburini, his interest with motorcycle design propelled to a whole new level. 

Pierre Terblanche

After Cagiva was acquired by US-based group, he shifted to Ducati. It was at Ducati that he sculpted some of his renowned creations. And the most acclaimed of them all was the controversial Ducati 999/749. The Hypermotard, Multistrada, Sport Classic etc, are few other notable bikes designed by the maestro. Apart from Ducati, Pierre Treblanche also worked with Norton Motorcycle Company &  Moto Guzzi. Among his recent masterpieces is the one of a kind Confederate X132 Hellcat Speedster that was showcased in August 2014. If you thought that merely cars & bikes were his forte, then you are making a big mistake. Apart from motorcycles he has also designed boats for South African shipyard Bobkat.  Since a long time, Royal Enfield has been focusing its attention on the international market and is taking a lot of efforts to expand its reach and popularity. Hence the hiring of Pierre Treblanche can be indicated as a step to make Royal Enfield's visual appeal to the international consumers, especially from Europe. Whether the South African designer will be responsible in designing the upcoming 400cc adventure offering from Royal Enfield still persists to be a question, which only time will answer. But tracing his prolific past we can surely expect some gorgeous & mean motorcycles from the stables of Royal Enfield.

Pierre Terblanche, designer  in Ducati

Speaking about Pierre Treblanche, Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director & CEO, Eicher Motors Limited said, “I am very excited that Pierre Terblanche has recently joined our team; he is one of the most prolific industrial designers for motorcycles, and is best known for having created some extra-ordinary motorcycles as the head of design for Ducati for over a decade.” I personally feel, introduction of Pierre would propel the design and sheer essence of Royal Enfield. But I am still caught in a dilemma. I hope bringing forth the new radical element into RE shouldn't rob it off its iconic status. Food for thoughts. But whatever may be the outcome, I wish Treblanche comes up with a uber cool and chromed cafe racer, the likes of Confederate X132 Hellcat Speedster. Fingers crossed ;)

So if you personally were to request for a brand new Royal Enfield envisioned by Pierre Treblanche, what should be the prominent elements in it? Feel free to share your views and thoughts in the comments below. Thanks