Triumph single spied

Is this the long-rumoured 'Street Single'?

SPY shots have emerged of a small-capacity single-cylinder Triumph being ridden near the firm’s test facility in Spain.

Thought to be around 250cc, it's likely to have been developed with emerging Asian markets in mind but could also be brought to the UK to compete with the likes of Kawasaki’s Ninja 300 and Honda’s new CBR300R.

Last year Triumph set up an Indian assembly facility and Ashish Joshi, MD of the operation, said there were plans to develop “a few new bikes... of lower capacity” in three years. That would suggest a production date of 2015. 

The pictures show it’s got a steel frame and liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine, with styling similar to the Street Triple.

Yesterday, BMW announced it also planned to enter the sub-500cc market, with range of new models by 2016.