- Benelli targeting a low price point
- Benelli Leoncino 500 expected to launch on August 2019
- There is currently no scrambler-style option at the targeted price point
- Only the road-biased variant is likely to be launched
- An off-road-biased variant might launch later
The Benelli Leoncino 500 is scheduled for an India launch soon – as soon as the first week of August. Teasers for the model have been released on the company’s social media. Only one of three variants is expected to launch, and that is the road-biased variant.
Speaking of the 2019 Leoncino 500 styling, it follows the neo-retro school of design language made so popular by the Ducati Scrambler and is powered by a liquid-cooled 500cc parallel-twin engine that generates 47.6bhp at 8500rpm and 45Nm of torque at 5000rpm. The chassis is a tubular steel trellis frame, and suspension consists of 50mm USD forks at the front and a monoshock with remote preload adjustability at the rear. It shares braking components with the TRK 502, with twin 320mm front discs and a single 260mm rear disc. Kerb weight is 207kg.
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Globally the Leoncino is available in three variants; Road, Trail, and Sport. Initially, the company intends to sell only the Road and based on market feedback, maybe the Trail. It intends the Leoncino 500 to be the entry-level 500cc Benelli as far as price is concerned, so we can expect it to be priced significantly lower than the TRK 502, which retails at Rs 5.1 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi. It is priced similar to the TRK in international markets but we expect it to be differentiated on price from the adventure-touring model in the Indian market.
The Benelli Leoncino 500 price is expected to be around Rs 4.5 lakh mark, it will have no real competition – the Ducati Scrambler range starts at well over Rs 7 lakh, and the closest thing to a scrambler with neo-retro styling below the Leoncino 500 in the Indian market is the Honda CB300R. The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 will also be a model under consideration for those looking at the Leoncino, simply because of bang for the buck.
