Conceive the inconceivable and make it a reality

Concept guns 2006

Conceive the inconceivable. Make the unreal real. Benelli has taken up this challenge and broken through barriers that once seemed insurmountable to set new standards in shotgun styling. To do so, Benelli has directed its research efforts towards state-of-the-art technology and materials and treatments never before used in shotgun manufacturing. The result is performance beyond your wildest dreams.

Benelli’s 2006 concept guns have been conceived with a clear eye to the future. These three shotguns are quite unique in their use of materials like ceramic coatings and carbon fibre, more often reserved for aerospace and medical applications, and in styling that confirms Benelli shotguns as the future for sports shooters and hunters alike.

The wise men of ancient China tried in vain to imagine a square with no sides. Their efforts, however, led to the invention of the tangram, the motif chosen to embellish Benelli’s 2006 concept guns. The tangram is generally divided into 7 geometric figures. By putting the pieces together in different ways, an infinite number of shapes can be created, pushing creativity beyond normal limits and making it realistic to conceive the inconceivable. This technique, which inspires Benelli’s 2006 concept guns, was chosen as an ideal way to envisage possible developments in semiautomatic shotgun design in the third millennium.

Benelli’s 2006 concept guns are based on the Raffaello Crio but incorporate major aesthetic and functional developments. Ceramic coatings and composite materials have been cleverly combined to create a futuristic design and to achieve futuristic performance to match. The three concepts embody different visions of the future.

Raffaello Gold is a blend of sophistication and technology. Its stock in top quality, selected and seasoned wood is finely checkered and oil finished according to the purest of gun-making traditions. The receiver features a G.H.A.® coating. An innovative new treatment compatible with all aluminium based alloys, G.H.A.® can be applied in thicknesses from 1 to 100 micrometres, and uses silver ions to seal all micro porosity. The resulting surface, together with the extraordinary properties of the silver ions, give the treated surface impressive technical characteristics, including a low coefficient of friction, self-lubrication, resistance to wear and corrosion, and a very high level of surface hardness.

Raffaello Blue and White embody a “technology and style” approach to shotgun design. Materials such as carbon fibre and ceramics demonstrate Benelli’s genuine commitment to experimentation. Carbon fibre is formed by a mesh of fibres immersed in resin and left to solidify. It has a strong visual appeal, and provides an effective replacement for conventional materials like plastic, steel and aluminium alloy, offering incomparable benefits in terms of weight, mechanical and physical strength.

In the past, ceramic materials were generally reserved for decorative purposes. The latest ceramics, however, offer excellent technical characteristics, including heat resistance, mechanical strength, physical and chemical resistance, resilience and versatility. Ceramic coatings can be applied by means of a plasma spray at high temperatures (7,000 to 20,000°C) and high speeds (400 to 820 m/sec). Ceramic plasma coating increases the density and compactness of the underlying surface while reducing its porosity. Under the control of a computerised robot system, the plasma spray brings ceramic materials to an extremely high melting point. The surfaces obtained are totally impervious to corrosion, wear, abrasion and impact.

In its 2006 concept guns, Benelli has succeeded in conceiving the inconceivable and turning the unreal into reality. In its quest for continuous progress, Benelli is always ready to attempt the impossible.

Raffaello Gold

• Stock and fore-end: super-deluxe walnut, with oil finish and fine checkering; recoil pad in shock-absorbing gel; carbon fibre grip
• Receiver: GHA coated
• Barrel: Cryogenic barrel with gold plated external surfaces and carbon fibre rib
• Details: gold plated cover, trigger guard and receiver.

Raffaello White

• Stock and fore-end: black carbon fibre with Benelli logo; recoil pad and comb in shock and vibration absorbing gel
• Receiver: plasma ceramic coated
• Barrel: Cryogenic barrel with ceramic coated external surfaces and carbon fibre rib
• Details: drawn steel

 Raffaello Blue

• Stock and fore-end: blue carbon fibre with Benelli logo; recoil pad and comb in shock and vibration absorbing gel
• Receiver: plasma ceramic coated
• Barrel: Cryogenic barrel and carbon fibre rib
• Details: drawn steel
  
  

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