Benelli is working on introducing many new products for the Indian market and have today announced that pre-bookings have opened for a new retro-classic motorcycle. Benelli will soon launch the Imperiale 400 model in India and this bike can be booked for INR 4,000. Benelli also claims that the Imperiale 400 will come with class leading 3 year / unlimited km warranty as standard. The Benelli Imperiale 400 can be ordered in red, black and chrome body colour options.
Benelli have also stated that deliveries for the Imperiale 400 will start from Diwali 2019 onwards with the official launch slated for the last week of October 2019. Benelli-MotoBi in the 1950s had a similar classic motorcycle on sale, and now, this would be the only such offering from the brand here in India. In terms of rivals, the Benelli Imperiale 400 will fight with the likes of Royal Enfield Classic 350 & Jawa.
The Benelli Imperiale 400 comes powered by a single-cylinder, air-cooled, 4-stroke petrol engine producing 20.4 HP of power @ 5500 RPM and 28 Nm of peak torque @ 3500 RPM matched to a 5-speed gearbox. This engine will be launched in an updated BSVI avatar, so these specs could be a little different. Of course, the bike will have a dual-channel ABS system.
Benelli currently does not have a modern classic motorcycle on sale, and this bike could very well become the most affordable model for the brand as it does not come with too many bells and whistles. We expect local assembly along with some parts made in India for a relatively cheaper price tag, but the Royal Enfield Classic 350 will still remain the bike to beat in the volumes game.