Ever since China-based QJ Motor acquired Benelli, it has been pretty vigilant in updating its lineup. For starters, the updated QJ models in China are sold in international markets as rebadged Benellis. And now, if reports are to be believed, Benelli is currently developing a more powerful iteration of the Leoncino 500. Benelli launched the BS6 iteration of the neo-retro scrambler in India at INR 4.6 Lakh, making the motorcycle around INR 20,000 cheaper than the BS4 model.
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The Leoncino 500 might not be that popular in our country owing to the company’s limited presence in our country, it still has its own strong points.
Coming back to the updated iteration now, apparently, Benelli’s parent firm Qianjiang has received a type-approval for this upgraded motorcycle that will be sold under the QJMotor brand in China. The leaked document reveals that the new motorcycle will receive a displacement bump. 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. The document also reveals that the bike will weigh around 193 kg, which is 14 kg less than the Leoncino 500. Weight reduction accompanied with more performance will make the Leoncino 500 a bit livelier than before and we can also expect its mid-range to be punchier as well.
According to the documents, the updated Leoncino 500 will be available in two variants. The base variant is expected to get less premium hardware as compared to its top-of-the-line variant. For instance, it is slated to utilize the same tubular steel swingarm as the Leoncino 500, while a higher-spec variant will get an aluminium swingarm. The front brake calipers and discs are also different on each model, with Benelli-branded calipers on the base model, while the higher-spec model seems to get Brembo calipers.
Also read: 2021 QJ Chase 600 Could Turn Out To Be A Rebadged Benelli TNT600i
It won’t be logical to expect the updated Leoncino 500 to arrive here anytime soon as it hasn’t been that long since the company took efforts to launch the BS6 iteration of the motorcycle. It might take another year or so, before we get to see this more powerful version of the Urban Scrambler on our streets.