Benelli Forges Ahead

BENELLI FORGES AHEAD

Rumors continue to circulate regarding Benelli's planned 900 Triple. Recent overseas reports describe a compact, 12-valve, fuel-injected V-Three, with two cylinders up and a center cylinder down. A quick-change cassette gearbox suggests Superbike racing intent, as does the presence of Ing. Riccardo Rosa. Previously at Cagiva, Rosa re portedly did much of the design work on the new MV Agusta F4 engine.

Benelli is not the company of former times, whose last world championship came in 1969 with Kel Carruthers. The company's venerable brick-walled premises date to motorcycling's vigorous pre-war era. It was first acquired by Alessandro de Tomaso, who then sold it to woodworking machinery magnate Giancarlo Selchi, who in turn sold most of his interest to Andrea Merloni and partners. Merloni is respected for the inroads Benelli has since made in the highly competitive and style-conscious Italian scooter market.

A faxed response to our questions denied nothing, confirmed nothing. Making scooters, it said, is Benelli's strategy for funding a first-level position in the motorcycle market. "As you know," it coyly continued, "it takes at least three years to bring a new engine design to market." Rosa and an engineering consulting firm in Torino are designing the three-cylinder engine jointly, states our source. Benelli has adequate financial backing, for Merloni's family owns a large appliance-manufacturing firm.

Three things about all this are worth noting: 1) Benelli's great historic name, revived in style; 2) the compact 900 Triple architecture is attractive, in part because World Super bike makes a special category for it; 3) the 300cc cylinder size is identical to that of all current Vi 0 Formula One car-racing engines. Current Vi Os produce more than 70 horsepower per cylinder. Do the math.

Kevin Cameron