Get an exclusive peek behind the scenes of the 73,000 square foot Norton HQ and factory, all courtesy of one seriously skilled pilot and an FPV drone equipped with a camera.
The new Norton factory, which opened its doors in autumn 2021, holds all of the brand’s UK operations, including the development and production of Norton’s model line-up including the Norton Commando 961, the V4SV superbike, and the new V4CR. And to say that this new facility, funded by Norton’s new owners TVS, is a far cry from the home it used to have is a massive understatement.
Where the Donington Hall base, which Norton called home during the ill-fated Garner years, was a hotch-potch of manufacturing stations with no real organisation, the new base is an ultra-modern, weapon’s grade facility, with operation theatre levels of cleanliness and filled with millions of pounds of high-tech equipment.
And while there is a small publicly accessible area at the front of the factory, which houses a number of iconic models from the Norton back catalogue, for the most part, the inner workings of the facility remain off-limits to the public - until now, anyway.
The FPV drone flythrough now allows you to get that behind-the-scenes look at the new factory, where you can catch glimpses of everything from the welders and polishers creating the frames, to the end-of-line inspection that each bike must go through before being released into the world.
Exclusive first ‘look’ at new Norton model
The video also seems to give viewers a sneaky peek at an as-yet-unknown new model that is being developed. It is the most fleeting of glimpses and in all honesty, there isn’t much to glean from seeing a bike covered in a sheet!
The drone, though, does move in for a closer look, only to be shooed away by the staff before too much is given away. From what we can tell, the bike hiding under the sheet is not identical to any of the models Norton currently has on sale, and seems to feature a different rear-end profile to the V4SV, V4CR, and Commando 961. Could it be the much-talked-about Atlas and Nomad models making their first public appearance? The bike the staff are looking at in the clip does seem to have some form of grab rails or perhaps handguards mounted on it, which could add weight to the theory.
From a business perspective, a cheaper offering from Norton that is easier to mass produce wouldn’t be a bad thing, and that’s pretty much what the two street scramblers promised. The rest of range is still quite aspirational, and while that does tie in to Norton’s premium brand positioning, having a higher volume and lower margin offering could be a quick and relatively easy way to get some new bikes out on the road.
