Benelli Imperiale 400 Crosses 4,000 Bookings

Surge in bookings reported after announcement of prices

• Bookings for the Imperiale 400 began on September 27.
• Prices were announced almost a month later.
• Expect the BS6 version to arrive prior to the April 1, 2020, deadline.

Benelli waded into the retro roadster segment with the Imperiale 400 in October 2019. This was a bit of a deviation from the usual suspects from the Italian brand. But boy, has the Imperiale 400 impressed us mightily. Benelli has received a phenomenal response of over 4,000 bookings for the bike. This is in a span of just a little over two months since bookings began on September 27.

Benelli claims a surge in demand for the bike after it announced the price. The Imperiale 400 carries a sticker price of Rs 1.69 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), which is a bit on the premium side compared to its two rivals: the Royal Enfield Classic 350 and the Jawa. We pitted all three of these retro lovelies in a comparison test, where the Imperiale 400 emerged as our favourite. 

The Imperiale 400 stays true to its retro genre with a 373.5cc single-cylinder long-stroke motor that puts out 21PS and 29Nm. The output figures are just a little more than the Classic 350’s but it falls short in the power department compared to the Jawa. 

Benelli will be introducing the BS6 version of the Imperiale 400 prior to the April 1, 2020, deadline. Expect a minor hike in the overall price of this retro roadster with the BS6 version retailing at Rs 1.80 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). One of the possible ways that Benelli will try to minimise the price hike is by increasing the percentage of localisation of the Imperiale 400. Currently, only the tyres and rims are locally sourced.