The Benelli Imperiale 400 launch has been much awaited in India. To be launched on 21st October 2019, it has now been spied undisguised in two colour options in Hyderabad. The colours are Black and Red maroon, very similar to the ones that are on offer with Royal Enfield motorcycles.
Bookings are now open at company dealership as well as online (https://benelli-imperiale.com/). Booking amount is Rs 4,000. It is available in 3 colours of Red, Black and Chrome. It gets best-in-class 3 Year Unlimited Kilometre Warranty as Standard.
Benelli Imerpiale is a retro bike which sits on a double cradle steel tube frame. It gets a rounded headlamp, a tear drop shaped fuel tank, split seats and an analog instrument cluster. It commands a kerb weight of 200 kgs and get a 12 liter fuel tank. It sits on 19” front and 18” rear spoke wheels.
Benelli 400 was launched globally in 2017. It gets its power via a 373.5cc, air cooled, single cylinder engine offering 19.7 PS power at 5,500 rpm and 28 Nm torque at 3,500 rpm mated to a 5 speed gearbox. The engine will be BS VI compliant upon launch in the country. In terms of suspension, the Benelli Imperiale 400 gets telescopic forks in the front and dual shock absorbers at the rear. Braking is via 300mm front disc and a 240mm rear disc with dual channel ABS offered as standard.
The new Benelli Imperiale 400 is expected to receive a high degree of localization so as to compete with the Royal Enfield Classic 350 and Jawa Forty Two. So much so that, this new Benelli could be priced to match its competitors. Like the other Benelli offerings, the Imperiale 400 could also come in via the CKD route imported from China to be assembled at the company’s Telangana facility near Hyderabad.
Benelli India has expanded its reach across the length and breadth of the country with 9 new dealerships opened this year itself. This takes total outlets to 19 as on date with a host of new dealerships to be opened by later this year. The company now sells 6 models in the country which include TNT300, TNT 600i, and 302R, TRK 502 and TRK 502 X and also Leoncino 500 all of which are priced between Rs.3-6.2 lakhs.
The company also plans to mark its entry into the scooter segment with 150cc and 250cc products while Benelli has also stated that it could launch electric two wheelers in India over the next three years depending on government policies.