Norton In Trouble, Cagiva To the Rescue?
Norton in trouble, Cagiva to the rescue?
ROUNDUP
NORTON, THAT MOST TENACIOUS of British motorcycle manufacturers, once looked as though its rotary-powered comeback attempt would succeed. Now, the chances of that happening are growing thin, and the diversified company may attempt to keep itself alive by selling off the most valuable jewel in its corporate crown—its motorcycle division.
Chairman James Tildesley, who succeeded Philippe LeRoux as chief executive, has himself exited in the wake of ongoing controversy over some of Norton's recent financial activities. New Chief Operating Offi-
cer David McDonald, who took over the company in an environment of declining motorcycle sales—its aircraft-engine division is said to be healthy—plans to relaunch the Norton lineup using improved rotarypowered bikes, providing the' company’s pressing financial problems allow it to remain in business until August, when the redesigned bikes currently are set for introduction.
But the company’s problems, and the intrinsic value of its name, have made it a takeover target, and at least two Italian companies are waiting to pounce.
The first is Diesel Jeans, sponsor
of the World Superbike Championship. The second is none other than Cagiva.
The Castiglioni brothers, who own Cagiva and w ho tried to buy Norton two years ago, remain very interested in Norton, upon which they plan to work the same miracle cure wrought on Ducati.
Cagiva’s president, Gianfranco Castiglioni. says that if current negotiations are successful, a revitalized Norton would make what he calls “proper” motorcycles. By this he means those powered bv piston engines with one and two cylinders.
“The rotary is an abomination,”
thunders Castiglioni. “We would develop a new' line of motorcycles in keeping with Norton’s heritage, but in the modern idiom—just as we did with Ducati. We will hire British engineers and designers, who initially w ill work alongside our people at Ducati and Cagiva to design new models. These will be developed and put into production in Britain. Cagiva is more than an Italian company. In the eyes of many people around the world, we are the European bike maker—the four Japanese and us. We need Britain, and British workers.”
Cagiva engineers already have prepared draw ings for a liquidcooled, twin-cam, latter-day Manx. All it will take to translate the drawings into metal and fiberglass is acquisition of the Norton name.
Diesel Jeans, meanwhile, probably would favor continued use and development of the Norton Rotary, and likely would transfer Norton's racing efforts, currently limited to British venues, to World Superbike events. If that should happen. Diesel probably would consider developing a born-again Manx Single.
Whatever finally does happen, the one thing that seems clear is that Norton is at a crossroads. A wrong turn now, by any of the players, could send it rumbling toward obscurity. Alan Cathcart
