LOT 462

1983 Gatsby Convertible Registration no. YHZ 1575 Chassis no. DPSMN062468

Estimate: £17,000 - £22,000

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Lot 462

1983 Gatsby Convertible

The Beaulieu Sale: Collectors' Motor Cars & Automobilia|6 September 2025, 13:00 BST|Beaulieu, National Motor Museum

1983 Gatsby Convertible
Registration no. YHZ 1575
Chassis no. DPSMN062468

• Previously registered/used overseas
• Numbered 64 of 250 produced
• Only one UK owner
• 5.0-litre V8 engine
• 11,144 miles recorded at last MoT (January 2024)

"Gatsby built two neoclassic cars, the Gatsby and the Griffin. The Gatsby was similar to the Clénet in concept, with an MG Midget body set on top of a Ford chassis that had a long bonnet and running boards grafted on." - The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile, Volume 2.

Built in San Jose, California, the Gatsby took its name from the eponymous hero of what is American novelist F Scott Fitzgerald's best known work, The Great Gatsby. Published in 1925, the novel has as its central character Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire obsessed with reuniting with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. The novel is set in New York City in the 'Roaring Twenties', a period characterised by its Art Deco skyscrapers and radical new departures in fashion and design, as well as ultra-luxurious automotive classics from the likes of Cadillac, Duesenberg, Packard, Hispano Suiza and Rolls-Royce.

Gatsby Coachworks was founded by Sky Clausen and Larry Munson in 1978. Its first product, the Gatsby Cabriolet, mounted its MG Midget body on the contemporary Ford Thunderbird or Mercury Cougar chassis. Like the Clénet, it adopted 1930s style but was not a replica of any particular car. Only turnkey cars were produced at first before Gatsby began offering its products in kit form in the early 1980s. In 1997 Gatsby was sold to JPR Cars Ltd of Gloucester, Virginia, who introduced a new kit - the 1980s Ford Mustang-based Gatsby Griffin - in 2003.

According to the accompanying V5C Registration Certificate, this Gatsby was registered/used overseas and first registered in the UK on 10th December 2020 to its sole owner in this country. The engine capacity is recorded as 5,000cc. Also on file are copied of a State of Florida Certificate of Title, HMR&C NOVA letter, shipping paperwork, two expired MoTs, and an invoice for parts and various works carried out by Surrey Lodge Motor Co Ltd in 2020.

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