India, Feb. 7 -- A new fully faired 450 cc sportbike jointly developed by TVS Motor Company and BMW Motorrad has been spotted testing in India, and it is clear now that the BMW F 450 test mule and the Apache RR 450 prototype are essentially the same motorcycle.

Spy images that surfaced earlier showed the bike running with BMW styling cues, leading to speculation around a future BMW F 450 RR. Fresh sightings, however, reveal the same platform wearing TVS-specific design elements, confirming that this is a shared development that will eventually be sold under both brands with distinct identities.

At the core of the motorcycle is the new 420 cc parallel twin engine that has been developed as part of the BMW TVS partnership. The motor is ex...