Benelli UK is part of the MotoGB Ltd group. Benelli was formed in 1911 and is one of Europe's oldest motorcycle manufacturers, originally specialising in racing motorcycles. Teresa Benelli, a widow, invested the family capital into the business, in the hope that it would give stability to her six sons: Giuseppe, Giovanni, Francesco, Filippo, Domenico and Antonio or "Tonino", who later made a name
racing Benelli motorcycles in the 1920s and 1930s. The company started life as a garage, repairing and servicing cars and motorcycles, but they began production of their own motorcycle and engine in 1921. The Second World War halted production, but in 1949 Benelli began to re-start production of motorcycles and light-weight road machines such as the two and four-stroke versions of the Leoncino or ‘Lion Cub’ became very popular in Italy. Over the years, machines such as the 500 Quattro and six-cylinder Sei have become legendary and today three-cylinder machines such as the Tornado Tre 900, Tre 1130, TNT, TNT R160 and Café Racer ensure that the name of Benelli is alive and well.