This modern Thruxton nameplate appeared for the 2019 model year, when Triumph replaced the earlier Thruxton R with a more focused RS version of its café racer. The bike was positioned as the most performance-oriented member of Triumph’s Modern Classic family, retaining the classic Thruxton silhouette while adding a sharper chassis, upgraded equipment, and a more contemporary finish. Triumph presented it as the next step in the Thruxton’s long café-racer lineage, tying the road bike to the original racing-influenced Thruxton identity that dates back to the 1960s and to the company’s earlier modern revival of the Thruxton in 2004.
The RS era ran as a single production period and became the definitive late-stage Thruxton. In Triumph’s own history, the RS was described as the evolution of the Thruxton R, aimed at riders who wanted the look and character of a British café racer with a higher level of polish, handling, and road-focused performance. That theme carried through the model’s later updates and special editions, including the chrome-finished variant and the final-run model year.
Production ended with the 2024 Final Edition, which Triumph described as the closing chapter for the Thruxton in its modern form. That final model celebrated 19 years of continuous modern-era Thruxton production, marking the end of the RS-led chapter rather than a separate revived run. For enthusiasts, the RS stands as the last and most developed expression of Triumph’s classic café-racer formula before the nameplate bowed out.