Pierre Terblanche walks out on Norton

Reports are coming in that claim Pierre Terblanche has quit his role as design chief at British company Norton Motorcycles.

The news comes only six months after the in-demand South African motorcycle designer took on the role, photographed smiling broadly with Stuart Garner, the CEO of Norton Motorcycles.

It is believed that Terblanche quit the UK-based company due to strained relations with management.

Norton managed to entice Terblanche away from Piaggio and had grand plans to use his motorcycle designing wisdom to craft a new era of bikes.

Stuart Garner, the CEO of Norton Motorcycles, said in January 2011: "Combining his flair for original concepts with Norton's sporting traditions will allow us to create a range of motorcycles bearing the historic Norton badge that will be unlike anything else in the marketplace."

Does this mean Norton's new range of motorcycles will now be like everything else out there?

Norton Motorcycles is currently undergoing a relaunch of sorts, and is determined to offer a range of motorcycles for the discerning rider in the next five years, with modern engines at their heart.

One of the rumours swirling around the company's relaunch phase was a return to Grand Prix racing, potentially in the 1000cc MotoGP class in 2012, but nothing has been officially confirmed at this stage.

Pierre Terblanche is best known for his work on Italian motorcycles, and was the man behind the (now very collectible) Ducati Supermono. He also designed several other famous Ducati motorcycles, including the 999 Superbike, Hypermotard, Sport Classic and the retro-styled MH900e (pictured), the latter design widely expected to influence new Nortons.

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