Since 2016, Benelli has been owned by the Chinese holding Geely, but the headquarters, design office and design center are still located in the Italian city of Pesaro, where the history of the Italian brand began.
The history of the Benelli company began back in 1911, it was founded by the six Benelli brothers (Giuseppe, Giovanni, Filippo, Francesco, Domenico and Antonio) at the suggestion of their mother Teresa, who, having remained a widow, wanted her sons to do business and organized a workshop for them in one of the wings of his estate. The Benelli brothers built the first motorcycle in 1921, it was called the Velomotore and was equipped with a 98 cc engine. The very next year, the young company began to offer more powerful versions of this model with a 125 cc engine, and in general the business developed dynamically in the 20s and 30s: the Benelli brothers quickly introduced all sorts of technical innovations into their motorcycles, raced and won which had a positive impact on sales. In 1932, the company moved to a new spacious building, by the beginning of World War II, the Benelli staff consisted of about 800 people.
The Benelli Brothers
During the war, the Benelli factory was bombed, but the brothers rebuilt it and continued the business. In the 60s, the company faced stiff competition from young Japanese motorcycle manufacturers and in 1972 joined the industrial empire of the legendary Argentine Alejandro de Tomaso, under his leadership Benelli created its most technically sophisticated motorcycles with a transverse inline 6-cylinder engine.< /p> Benelli 752 S 1/3 Benelli 752 S 2/3 Benelli 752 S 3/3
Aggressive management of de Tomaso, to put it mildly, was not always effective, the Argentine empire collapsed pretty soon, since the late 80s, Benelli has changed three owners, until finally in 2016 it became part of the Geely holding, thanks to which Benelli motorcycles now freely fall into Russia. The well-known company Avilon AG became the first official Benelli dealer in our country. Benelli motorcycles will be presented in four of its showrooms in Moscow and the Moscow region.
Benelli 502 C 1/3 Benelli 502 C 2/3 Benelli 502 C 3/3
In the current Benelli model line, there are no particularly powerful models of the level of the top Aprilia, Ducati, MV Agusta, but Benelli's design and balance of consumer qualities are definitely not worse, since these motorcycles are still being developed in Italy.
The flagship of the model line is the Benelli 752 S naked bike with an in-line 750 cc “two” with a power of 76.8 hp. and very aggressive modern design. No less impressive is the Benelli 502 C cruiser with a comfortable fit, it is equipped with a 500 cc engine with 47.6 hp
Benelli Leoncino 500 1/3 Benelli Leoncino 500 2/3 Benelli Leoncino 500 3/3
For lovers of classic style, the Benelli Leoncino 500 motorcycle (Leoncino is translated from Italian as “lion cub”) and its crossover version of the Leoncino 500 Trail (in the title photo) with a 500-cc “two” with a power of 47.6 hp are addressed. The same engine powers the top-of-the-line Benelli TRK 502 X touring motorcycle, which can be loaded with panniers and set off on a big trip.
Benelli TRK 502 X 1/3 Benelli TRK 502 X 2/3 Benelli TRK 502 X 3/3
The younger Benelli models with 125 cc engines, the powerful Leoncino 800 and the retro-styled Imperiale 400 motorcycle have not yet been presented in Russia, but perhaps they will appear in the future.