- Will rival against the Royal Enfield Classic 350
- To be launched around the festive season
- Will be priced around Rs 2-2.5 lakhs mark (ex-showroom)
- Will introduce two more products towards the end of 2019
Benelli has launched the Leoncino 500 in India and during its product briefing today, the company’s Indian partner, Adishwar Auto Ride India, shed some light on the next products that lined up ahead.
First up, as reported earlier, Benelli India will be bringing in the retro-cruiser styled Imperiale 400 during the festive season. The motorcycle will compete head-on with the popular Royal Enfield Classic 350 and now also the Jawa, with the former leading the segment in the 300-350 cruiser segment for years now. The company feels that there is a lot of scope here as buyers don’t have many alternatives. Furthermore, to keep the product competitive in the market, the company is working on the localisation of components to make the motorcycle accessible to a wider audience. That being said, Benelli is likely to price the Imperiale 400 around the Rs 2-2.5 lakhs (ex-showroom) mark, making it a strong consideration for buyers over Royal Enfield’s Classic 350 model.
In case you didn’t know much about the Imperiale 400, it is a retro-styled motorcycle with a round headlamp flanked by circular turn indicators, chromed fenders and spoke wheels. It gets a twin-pod instrument cluster with modern touches in the form of a vertical display in the centre and one in the left pod. Besides that, it features a tear-drop shaped fuel tank with pads, single-piece chrome handlebar, chrome finish low slung exhaust and split-seats.
The motorcycle draws its power from a 373.5cc single-cylinder SOHC mill that puts out 19bhp of max power and 28Nm of peak torque and comes mated to a five-speed gearbox. For cycle parts, the Imperiale 400 comes with telescopic forks up front and twin shock absorbers at the rear. Braking duties are handled by disc brakes at both ends equipped with dual-channel ABS.
The Imperiale 400 will be the seventh product to be introduced by Benelli since it re-started operations in the country in partnership with Mahavir Group. The company also has two more products in the pipeline which will be introduced towards the end of 2019. The two new products will be smaller derivatives of the TRK and Leoncino models with a displacement of 250cc.
