Those of you with an appreciation for classic motorsports may twig at the title of today’s bike: the Maserati Mistral was produced from 1964 to 1970, powered by the famous straight six cylinder engine that carried Juan Manuel Fangio to victory in the 1957 F1 World Championship. The Mistral is considered the most beautiful automobile assembled by the Casa del Tridente and Australia’s McLennan Cycles have dedicated their flagship model to its spirit.
Keir Witcher has teamed up with Tarn Mott of Primate Frames to offer the stainless steel Mistral as a production frame. Tarn’s application to his work is nothing short of impressive, whether it’s a steel downhill bike, industrial strength folding bikes, razor scooters, BMX and hardtail mountain bike frames or even his custom coffee roaster. Needless to say I’ve been very excited to watch the evolution of the McLennan project — a lithe, competitive road frame that’s built Tarn-tough.
“I’ve always loved horizontal top tubed-and-lugged frames”, Keir tells us. “The availability of modern stainless tubes and stainless lugs from Llewellyn ticked a lot of boxes. The result is a beautiful frame with a Tarn Mott fillet-brazed signature around the seat tube cluster.” I’ll be honest: the retro-styled branding and paint is one of my favorite components here. Meg Lofts of eyedeer created the martini-inspired design, while Sydney’s Peter Flemming at Star Enamel laid down the color.
Dan Hale at Shifterbikes assembled the bike and built the wheels to his usual exacting level. Pricing for the Mistral starts at $4350 (made to order after client consultation), a Chris King headset and fully prepared — ready for build. Being a custom frame, options include paint and different levels of finish including mirror-polished stainless lugs, seat and chain stays. Email Keir at McLennnan Cycles for more details. Special thanks to Andy Rogers at Fame and Spear for the awesome photography.
