RE: Driven (Just A Little Bit): Ginetta F400
Discussion
Looks like a stunning car and if they get the ride and handling sorted and keep the quality at a reasonable level at that price I really don't think they can go wrong. I'm sure they'll easily hit their sales targets, I'm surprised they are so low. Still if I win the lottery soon I'm sure they can knock an extra one up for me. Good luck to them.
stevevx220 said:
Good luck to them. I enquired a few months ago about their G40R. Still waiting ..........
Magazine Test of G40R (4 pages) by Steve Sutcliffe in current Autocar. Also tested HERE!! on Pistonheads - link:
http://www.pistonheads.com/roadtests/doc.asp?c=47&...
V8 GRF said:
Roo said:
The Russian had more money and not enough sense to check what he was actually buying.
I think you'll find that the first part of that statement is not true by a considerable margin, however the second part is the crux of the matter.Maybe I should have said
"The Russian had more disposable money to wantonly throw around at something without doing any due diligence"
deepthroat said:
Yeah, the "within a gnat's of buying TVR" isn't quite true!! Peter wasn't so keen on LNT and that deal was dead long before the Russian nightmare appeared on the horizon. Good luck to Lawrence with the Ginetta project though - but it's no TVR!
Depends on the size of your gnat, perhaps? 
deepthroat said:
Yeah, the "within a gnat's of buying TVR" isn't quite true!! Peter wasn't so keen on LNT and that deal was dead long before the Russian nightmare appeared on the horizon. Good luck to Lawrence with the Ginetta project though - but it's no TVR!
Not according to Lawrence and I have no reason to disbelieve him. Anyway, why would Peter not be keen seeing as how LNT gave TVR their first overall international race win (not just a class) and had bought the majority of PW's pet project in the T400/T440 cars?You're right it's no TVR, modern factory, clear business plan and vision, several successful race series and of course it's still producing cars.
It could and would have been TVR apart from the fact that PW simply sold to the highest bidder.
Good to hear that this project's still moving forward nicely
However, I was a bit concerned about this bit of Chris' article -
"Other input from LT has seen the F400 return to a more purist 'driver's' spec, with items like PAS and PAB relegated to the options list. "You can have power steering, but we'd prefer you didn't. You can have power brakes, but we'd prefer you not to..." "
If I read it right, LNT is looking to price the G400 at around £68k, right in Evora S territory. Potential buyers who might already be considering an Evora S as a left-field choice will be expecting these kinds of features as standard (unless of course they are entirely unnecessary, in which case they shouldn't be offered as options). Ginetta already have G40 covering the 'road ready track car' market, this is pegged as a luxury supercar and will be priced accordingly. Anyone looking at a Porsche or Lotus (or, to a lesser extent, Nissan GTR) at this price point surely won't be wanting a stripped out racer that they can only manhandle down a 'B' road after a concentrated programme of weight training? Also, performance needs to be sharp. Ok so 0-60mph isn't everything but sub 5 seconds (not 6) should be the minimum target for the base model (as was quoted for the base model GTS when Farbio had it 'on sale').
It will also be interesting to see if the GTS's touch screen infotainment system has been junked or is being carried through to the new car (my recollection is the press seemed quite impressed with it...).
However, I was a bit concerned about this bit of Chris' article -
"Other input from LT has seen the F400 return to a more purist 'driver's' spec, with items like PAS and PAB relegated to the options list. "You can have power steering, but we'd prefer you didn't. You can have power brakes, but we'd prefer you not to..." "
If I read it right, LNT is looking to price the G400 at around £68k, right in Evora S territory. Potential buyers who might already be considering an Evora S as a left-field choice will be expecting these kinds of features as standard (unless of course they are entirely unnecessary, in which case they shouldn't be offered as options). Ginetta already have G40 covering the 'road ready track car' market, this is pegged as a luxury supercar and will be priced accordingly. Anyone looking at a Porsche or Lotus (or, to a lesser extent, Nissan GTR) at this price point surely won't be wanting a stripped out racer that they can only manhandle down a 'B' road after a concentrated programme of weight training? Also, performance needs to be sharp. Ok so 0-60mph isn't everything but sub 5 seconds (not 6) should be the minimum target for the base model (as was quoted for the base model GTS when Farbio had it 'on sale').
It will also be interesting to see if the GTS's touch screen infotainment system has been junked or is being carried through to the new car (my recollection is the press seemed quite impressed with it...).
grosserbaby said:
I have been watching the F400 for ages and I want one, hearing that there is plenty of room once inside makes it sound even more achievable for us tall people, pity I'm wide too. Now to find the 20% and stop eating to make up the £900 a month.
...and then save a bit extra a month to afford the £35k+ balloon payment! Great looking car, it's good to read about British sportscar production. Long may it continue.
jazzyjeff said:
Good to hear that this project's still moving forward nicely
However, I was a bit concerned about this bit of Chris' article -
"Other input from LT has seen the F400 return to a more purist 'driver's' spec, with items like PAS and PAB relegated to the options list. "You can have power steering, but we'd prefer you didn't. You can have power brakes, but we'd prefer you not to..." "
If I read it right, LNT is looking to price the G400 at around £68k, right in Evora S territory. Potential buyers who might already be considering an Evora S as a left-field choice will be expecting these kinds of features as standard (unless of course they are entirely unnecessary, in which case they shouldn't be offered as options). Ginetta already have G40 covering the 'road ready track car' market, this is pegged as a luxury supercar and will be priced accordingly. Anyone looking at a Porsche or Lotus (or, to a lesser extent, Nissan GTR) at this price point surely won't be wanting a stripped out racer that they can only manhandle down a 'B' road after a concentrated programme of weight training? Also, performance needs to be sharp. Ok so 0-60mph isn't everything but sub 5 seconds (not 6) should be the minimum target for the base model (as was quoted for the base model GTS when Farbio had it 'on sale').
It will also be interesting to see if the GTS's touch screen infotainment system has been junked or is being carried through to the new car (my recollection is the press seemed quite impressed with it...).
This is no stripped out racer I can assure you. The price quoted imo is a bargain for what you get and that does include the touchscreen that control everything from the aircon, radio, bluetooth, etc etc. Everything and I mean everything has been improved from the last time I sat in the Farbio.However, I was a bit concerned about this bit of Chris' article -
"Other input from LT has seen the F400 return to a more purist 'driver's' spec, with items like PAS and PAB relegated to the options list. "You can have power steering, but we'd prefer you didn't. You can have power brakes, but we'd prefer you not to..." "
If I read it right, LNT is looking to price the G400 at around £68k, right in Evora S territory. Potential buyers who might already be considering an Evora S as a left-field choice will be expecting these kinds of features as standard (unless of course they are entirely unnecessary, in which case they shouldn't be offered as options). Ginetta already have G40 covering the 'road ready track car' market, this is pegged as a luxury supercar and will be priced accordingly. Anyone looking at a Porsche or Lotus (or, to a lesser extent, Nissan GTR) at this price point surely won't be wanting a stripped out racer that they can only manhandle down a 'B' road after a concentrated programme of weight training? Also, performance needs to be sharp. Ok so 0-60mph isn't everything but sub 5 seconds (not 6) should be the minimum target for the base model (as was quoted for the base model GTS when Farbio had it 'on sale').
It will also be interesting to see if the GTS's touch screen infotainment system has been junked or is being carried through to the new car (my recollection is the press seemed quite impressed with it...).
From my driving impressions the car is so light it doesn't need power brakes or PAS. It didn't feel quite as quick as my Griff accelerating up a motorway slip road but it certainly kept going for the horizon and it sounded the part.
Anyone who drives this and was thinking of the Lotus won't be going back to Norfolk in my opinion.
TVR could not shed the spectre of unreliabilty.
Ginetta is something else entirely, and IMHO a far better platform for broadening motorsport / race proven specialist sports car production ...
Lotus, lovely as they are, are still strugging to elevate their market above the Exige ...
Their Evora now has very stiff competition from the Cayman R ... itself sruggling to compete with the 911 997, all with the new 991 about to re-set the datum line.
Ginetta need to side-step the 911 and Cayman, and target the GT3 with a smaller track focussed intelligent car that will be inexpensive to run, with an attached race series. Ginetta for the weekend, turbo diesel "something interesting" for the daily drudge.
TVR was always too hairy arsed to do this ... IMHO !
Ginetta is something else entirely, and IMHO a far better platform for broadening motorsport / race proven specialist sports car production ...
Lotus, lovely as they are, are still strugging to elevate their market above the Exige ...
Their Evora now has very stiff competition from the Cayman R ... itself sruggling to compete with the 911 997, all with the new 991 about to re-set the datum line.
Ginetta need to side-step the 911 and Cayman, and target the GT3 with a smaller track focussed intelligent car that will be inexpensive to run, with an attached race series. Ginetta for the weekend, turbo diesel "something interesting" for the daily drudge.
TVR was always too hairy arsed to do this ... IMHO !
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