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VOL. 51 ISSUE 4 JANUARY 28, 2014
P81
Pere Tarragó makes 1:5 scale motorcycle
models that will blow your mind
BY ALAN CATHCART
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM SCAYSBROOK
S
omehow it's appropriate
that Pere Tarragó, today's
creator of the finest and
most intricate miniaturized motorcycles made in Europe – maybe
in the world - should live in Barcelona. For this is the European
capital of motorcycles, no matter
what they may think in Paris or
Rome. It can be no coincidence,
either, that this is where two out
of MotoGP's three 2013 World
Champions come from, with
Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro
born locally and still living there,
while Moto3 title-holder Maverick
Viñales, who originally hails from
nearby Figueres, is also a Barcelona resident.
The Catalan capital was also
the crucible in which the Spanish
motorcycle industry flourished
during the regime of General
Franco, but then died away with
his passing in 1975 in the face of
competition from Japan. So it's
ironic that the only Bultaco and
Montesa motorcycles still made
there are the exquisite 1:5 scale
models created by Tarragó in the
workshop attached to his home
in the Barcelona suburb of Molins de Rei.
These are breathtakingly
executed, finely detailed and
faithfully accurate works of twowheeled art, whether entirely
hand-crafted one-offs built to
special order costing anywhere
from $16,000 and up, or handassembled series production
models constructed from components (many of which are
manufactured in a local jeweler
workshop from Tarragó's patterns), and retailing for considerably less than that.
The Montesa Impala 250 and
its essentially identical 125 sister
that have been Pere's Classic
Motor Models (www.classicmotormodels.com) best seller
so far, with 52 examples sold
to date, and can be yours for
$2780, while the Bultaco Metralla 250 of which 12 copies have
found customers so far goes for
$3400 – plus tax.
If your pocket doesn't run
that deep, but you're still after
a display item to remind you of
Spain's glorious two-wheeled
heritage, then the engine for either bike can be yours for $340,
or the fuel tank for $200, each
mounted in a special display
case. The complete bikes come
well presented in a wooden box
just a bit better made than the
