The Benelli Quattro – named for its four-cylinder engine, was built under Alejandro de Tomaso’s leadership in an attempt to revitalize Benelli and to directly take on the Japanese (particularly Honda’s CB500 Four). In fact, de Tomaso bought a CB500 for his engineers and told them to ‘get inspiration’ from the bike, though the styling was handled by Paul Martin at Ghia. (also owned by de Tomaso at the time)
The engine was good for 45 horsepower, though it’s impressive just how ‘inspired’ the Italians were. The engine looks similar to the Honda unit from the outside, and it even shares the same cylinder dimensions. Thanks to an increased compression ratio, however, Benelli was able to wring out a little bit more power. Four Dell’Orto carbs help get the 440 pound bike up to 112 miles per hour. The frame was actually the same unit used in the Benelli Sei.
This specific Benelli Quattro has less than 3,000 miles and unfortunately comes with the 4-into-1 exhaust pipes that later bikes came with. I’d try to source some of the earlier 4-into-4 pipes and the ride this beauty as is. Find it for sale here on Craigslist in Florida for $5,000.
This bike-uriousity brought to you by Jim R!