Francesc Xavier Bultó

Francesc Xavier Bultó Marquès (Barcelona, 17 May 1912[1] – Barcelona, 3 August 1998),[2] popularly known as Paco Bultó, was a Spanish Catalan businessman, founder of Montesa along with Peter Permanyer, and of Bultaco.[3] He was born into a family of Catalan bourgeoisie dedicated mainly to textiles. He is known as a motorcycle engineer and designer.[4]

Francesc Xavier Bultó
Francesc Xavier Bultó Marquès
A black-and-white photo of a man in a flat cap and sunglasses holding a cigarette.
Bulto in 1963
Born17 May 1912
Died3 August 1998 (aged 86)
NationalitySpanish
OccupationIndustrialist
Known forMotorbikes Montesa and Bultaco

In the first company, Permanyer was the businessman and manager, and Bultó had experience with motorcycles. They produced light bikes with two-stroke engines, which outperformed heavier English bikes with four-stroke engines. In 1958, the Spanish government demanded some cuts from industry, and Permanyer wanted to abandon the sport-bike branch. Bultó coined his famous motto "market follows the chequered flag" and left the company. Together with some former employees, he started his own venture called Bultaco. The first model, Bultaco Tralla 101, came to the market 1959. The bikes were manufactured at Bultó family farm, and his children acted as test drivers for all prototypes.[5] Francisco Xavier Bultó died on 5 August 1998, at age 86.

References

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  1. ^ Herreros, Francisco; Aznar, José Luis (1998). Historia del motociclismo en España (en castellà). Barcelona: RACC & Hipòtesi Edi-Balmes Edició SL. pp. 94–98. ISBN 84-920886-5-6.
  2. ^ La Vanguardia, ed. (5 August 1998). "Necrológicas. Don Francisco X. Bultó Marqués" (PDF). Hemeroteca (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  3. ^ Freixa, Elena (13 March 2011). Edició de Premsa Periòdica ARA, SL (ed.). Catalunya, bressol d'èxits de dues rodes. núm. 104 (in Catalan). Barcelona: Diari Ara. pp. 30–31.
  4. ^ Pi, Pere (July 2012). "45. El senyor Bultó". No tinc 200 anys. Les vivències de Pere Pi (in Catalan). Barcelona: Autoedition (Service Point). pp. 79–80. ISBN 9788461590353.
  5. ^ "Motocicletas que perviven en el recuerdo" (in Spanish). El Periodico del Motor. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014.