When the emission norms in the country changed, a need for more fuel efficient and less polluting four-stroke motorcycles suddenly came into being.

[3][4] At the time there was also an upcoming market for the low displacement performance motorcycles in India which can be related to the success of the Hero Honda CBZ.

[9] The successors and current variants of the TVS Apache have engines based on the same platform but have significant design improvements such as an oversquare engine,[10] 4- valves,[11] balance shaft;[12] technical advancements such as oil cooling,[12] ram-air assist cooling[13] (not to be confused with ram-air intake), fuel injection[11][13] and performance improvements.

[18] Previous versions of Apache had a wheelbase of 1,260 mm (50 inches) which resulted in better turning in at the expense of stability.

[30] In 2020, BS6 compliant engines were released in all their line up which saw significant improvements in RTR 200 4V and RR 310 models in terms of riding, handling and integrated tech.

TVS Apache RTR 180 won Performance Bike Of The Year (2009) from Business Standard Motoring Awards.