Royal Enfield showed three genuine show stoppers at the Auto Expo. All were based on the sold out Classic 500 and each was intensely desirable. The best one was at the back, the Cafe Racer Concept. The motorcycle looked so good that we wish the bike was launched right now. However, Enfield plans to launch the stunner only by January 2012 and says that many of its delicious aggregates - the sweet rearsets, the oval number board et al- are still far from final production status. The bike will look different and even the powertrain specification could change, but it will be just as evocative. Closer to sale date is the Classic 500 Chrome, a gorgeous pinstriped, maroon-chrome vision that will go on sale in September.

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RE officials told us that there's so much hand-laid pinstriping detail on the bike that they're still working out how to integrate it into the production schedule. RE officials also emphasised that the abundant chrome of the Machismo needed a counterpoint and that is what the Chrome has achieved - which is why it looks so good. The final star is the Chrome 500 Military which looked the business in olive drab, which ironically is why it's only for export at the moment. RE is working out how to reconcile the colour choice against the Indian armed forces colour regulations. As of now, army regulations appear to prohibit the sale of privately owned vehicles in that colour. A similar police rule was the reason why manufactu'rers have been hesitant to sell white-coloured two-wheelers until recently. The Classic 500 is also being worked into other variants including the Scrambler we mentioned at the launch. Also on display was a (standard) Bullet in the usual black, but sporting the Unit Construction Engine
- which it needs to get past Bharat Stage III emissions. Come March 31 the venerable old engine will go out of production.