Benelli seems to be eying at the premium single-cylinder motorcycle segment as the company is testing what looks like a Leoncino 250. This test mule did not have any testing equipment on board and most of the components look production ready. A launch might happen in the coming months positioning Leoncino 250 as the company’s most affordable motorcycle.
New Benelli Leoncino 250 Spied
Not a long time ago, Benelli India used to offer smaller capacity twin cylinder motorcycles as well as single-cylinder offerings. Fast forwarding to April 2025, Benelli India’s most affordable model is Leoncino 500, priced around Rs 5 lakh (Ex-sh). The single cylinder offerings like Imperiale 400, TRK 251 and Leoncino 250 were discontinued.
Benelli seems to be keen on re-launching Leoncino 250 in the Indian market, as suggested by the recent spy shots. This will open Benelli’s portfolio to a much wider audience if the new Benelli Leoncino 250 was launched around the Rs 2.5 lakh mark (Ex-sh). At that price point, it will take on other neo retro bikes like Honda CB300R.
Leoncino 250 can also be a great candidate to rival Royal Enfield Classic 350 to some extent, considering Benelli is a stalwart legacy motorcycle manufacturer with a rich heritage and legacy as well. Leoncino 250 will pack a significantly modern engine with liquid-cooling and will weigh a lot less.
What to expect?
When compared to the Benelli Leoncino 250 sold till 2020 in India, we don’t see a lot of differences with this new model. It is still a classic neo retro motorcycle with Roadster like silhouette. It looks cool and distinct, which will be its trump card. The main changes can be seen in the exhaust shape and this new Leoncino 250 seems to have tank shrouds.
Other than that, it still gets a tail tidy with a tyre hugger mounted LED number plates. While this test mule didn’t have rear turn indicators, the production version will. There is a single-piece seat and street-style handlebar allowing the rider to sit upright. Rider footpegs are slightly rear-seat for sporty aggression.
ORVMs are not round anymore, while LED headlights seem to be. We wish Benelli offers a TFT cluster in place of the LCD unit seen on the discontinued model. It still gets USD telescopic front forks, rear mono-shock, front and rear disc brakes with dual-channel ABS along with 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped with 110-section front and 150-section rear tyres.
Powering this vehicle is likely to be the same 249cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine with around 25 bhp and 21 Nm, mated to a 6-speed gearbox. However, it will be BS6 OBD2B emission standard compliant, this time around. Launch is likely to happen in the coming months.
Source
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
