Benelli working on more powerful Leoncino 500?

Benelli launched BS6-compliant Leoncino 500 in February this year at ₹4.6 lakh, making the motorcycle almost ₹20,000 cheaper than the BS4 model. This was a surprising move by the Italian motorcycle maker as most bikes in the country had incurred a price hike while transitioning from BS4 to BS6 emission norms. This move, though aimed at racking up more sales, hasn't really helped Benelli in India, although we could chalk that up to the limited presence of the brand in the country and the second wave of COVID-19 in the country taking a toll on businesses. Nevertheless, Leoncino 500 is reasonably popular in several international markets and Benelli is reportedly planning to improve the scrambler. According to reports, Benelli's parent company -- Qianjiang Motors -- is working on a more powerful version of the Leoncino 500. This new model will then be sold in various markets (including ours) under the Benelli brand name.

The new Leoncino 500 will reportedly be using a 550 cc parallel twin-cylinder instead of the existing 500 cc twin-cylinder unit. The larger engine block is expected to deliver 4 more bhp than the existing powerplant that has 47 bhp and a peak torque of 46 Nm. Another benefit of the bigger engine block will be a stronger mid-range performance. This engine will be mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, possibly with a slipper clutch.