Benelli Leoncino 250 launching in India this week

Team OD Updated: October 01, 2019, 12:25 PM IST

Sources at Benelli India have confirmed to OVERDRIVE that the Benelli Leoncino 250 will be launched in India this week, marking the Italian manufacturer's return to the uber-important quarter-litre segment. The 250 is the smaller, more affordable version of the Benelli Leoncino 500 that was launched in the country just a few months back. Clearly, Benelli India is on a product offensive currently, as the confirmation for the Leoncino 250 comes days after its dealers started accepting bookings for the Benelli Imperiale 400.

Coming back to the Leoncino 250, the motorcycle is powered by a liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine that puts out 27.19PS and 20.5Nm and is mated to a six-speed gearbox. Outputs for the Indian version could differ slightly though. The Leoncino 250 boasts styling cues similar to the bigger Leoncino, though expectedly dimensions are smaller.

That said, the 250's seat height is the same as the Leoncino 500 at 785mm. The headlamp assembly gets a similar design too, while the tank gets florescent graphics (on the international spec model). The instrument cluster is an all-digital unit and is different from the 500's though. The Leoncino 250 is suspended on 41mm upside-down forks at the front and a mono-shock in the rear.

Braking duties are handled by a single disc at the front along with a rear disc as well and like the 500, the Leoncino 250 also gets switchable dual-channel ABS. The 250 runs on a 110/70 R17 front tyre and a 150/60 R17 tyre at the rear. It is worth noting that the 250cc naked space has been gathering steam for a while now and currently witnesses some serious competition, courtesy established names like Yamaha FZ25, KTM 250 Duke and the recently launched Suzuki Gixxer 250 as well. We expect Benelli to price the Leoncino 250 between Rs 1.8 to 1.9 lakh ex-showroom.