Codename Colt: Indian’s Next Chief Variant

Beyond the new Scouts, we’ve previously written about new liquid-cooled PowerPlus-engined versions of the Chieftain and Roadmaster in the works for 2025, as confirmed by an internal Indian document that we managed to obtain. We can also report that the same document confirms the existence of a new Chief variant. We don’t yet know what the production model will be called, but we do know that the new variant goes by the internal code name of “Colt”.

The name “Colt” appears three times, once in a vehicle identification number decoder for European markets, once in a 2025 model year color chart, and again in the document’s revision history. That revision history noted the “Colt” was added to the document on March 13, 2023. Each mention of “Colt” came in quotation marks, which we assume denotes it is an internal, or at the least, a placeholder name.

The name follows a horse motif for Indian’s Chief line, which is internally known as the Mustang line. The eventual production name will likely follow convention and incorporate “Chief” in some fashion.

The European VIN decoder lists the “Colt” alongside the four existing Chief variants, the Chief, Super Chief, Chief Bobber, and Sport Chief. Under the seventh and eighth digit columns, there are several mentions (in gray text) mentioning a 122ci V-Twin engine. Based on comments in the document’s revision history, we take the gray text to mean that the details remain to be finalized. The “TBD” in the horsepower rating and the metric displacement of “19??cc” would seem to confirm that details may still be in flux.

The color chart (an excerpt of which is shown below) lists the Chief variants with a description of how they each stand out in the lineup. The regular Chief is “Mean”, the Bobber is “Old School” and the Super Chief is the “Old School Bagger”. The Sport Chief doesn’t have a descriptor, but the name is pretty self-explanatory. The “Colt” also doesn’t have a descriptor, but we can make a few educated guesses about what it could be.

The biggest clue comes from taking a broader look at Indian’s entire lineup. From last week’s announcement, we noted that the 2025 Scout variants all seem to mirror the Chief models. The Scout Classic, Scout Bobber, Super Scout, and Sport Scout all line up with a different Chief variant. What we have, then, is a choice between a liquid-cooled or an air-cooled engine on a cruiser, bobber, tourer, and performance cruiser. What’s still missing is a corresponding Chief model for the 101 Scout.

Essentially an even more performance-oriented version of the Sport Scout, the 101 Scout offers upgraded suspension and a more powerful engine tuning. It seems reasonable to guess the “Colt” will be an upgraded version of the Sport Chief, but with the 122ci version of the Thunderstroke engine.

We’ll have a better idea when we get closer to the eventual launch. At the moment, there’s no indication on when Indian will announce the “Colt”, or even what its final name will be. A fall launch alongside the rest of the 2025 Chief lineup seems likely.

Become a Motorcycle.com insider. Get the latest motorcycle news first by subscribing to our newsletter here.