Gatso 4000 Aero Coupe

Product no.: AC05014

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79.95
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The One with the Three Headlights

 

The sports car named Gasto 4000 belonged indisputably to the sort of cars, which were in need of getting used to in its day. The age, in which it was born, was the late 1940s and its birthplace was the Dutch Heemstede. Owner of the company was Maurice Gatsonides – born in 1911. He immediately started with the production of his car after World War II. Gatsonides had a preference for powerful US-engines and so he chose a L-headed, liquid-cooled V8 engine from Mercury with a displacement of almost 4 liter and 120 HP. The chassis came from the French company Matford.

 

The Dutch went public with his creation under the company name Gatford for the first time in March 1948. The appearance of the new car even got through to the French branch of Ford. Apparently the management of Ford wasn’t delighted about the Dutch creation. Reason for that was the risk of confusion between Gatford and Matford. Under the label Matford Ford was distributing its US-American models in France. The legal veto from the French headquarter of Ford was that big that Maurice Gatsonides changed his company name immediately into Gatso – the short form of his surname.

 

The people who saw his over 150 km/h fast vehicle for the first time were surely baffled because of the unusual face of the car. Instead of the usual two headlights the car had a third one embedded in the body above the grill! How big Maurice Gatsonides expected the reception for his car, was shown by his broad range of versions. Based on the same chassis he offered a two-seated convertible, a roadster and a coupe. In addition he presented a touring car for four occupants. But he didn´t find any prospective buyer.

 

It is not safe how many cars were built. There is information about 11 pieces whereas other sources mention only 8. Further authors refer to even only 4 built cars – two coupes and two convertibles.

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