It's taken a decade, but the car that started out as a Farboud, became a Farbio and ended up a Ginetta has finally found a customer
OK, we admit it. We were afraid of filing this one in the pile marked 'never going to happen' but, after much delay, the first Ginetta G60 has been delivered, to a customer living in Bavaria.
"I am very happy to receive the car today, it sounds great, has great performance and I love the 'race car' feel of no assisted brakes," says an understandably chirpy Hubert Krae. "Whilst the car was in production I flew over about three times and tested the car to give my input on how things were developing.
"It is very important for me to use a car company which talks to the customer and listens to the things which they want and don't want. I would take the car out for a while and come back with my feedback which ultimately resulted in a car designed specifically designed around what I wanted."
The delivery of a car to the customer must be quite a relief for Ginetta, even if it is one of only three road-registered G60s in existence (the other two belong to Ginetta), as the gestation of the car has been protracted to say the least.
It actually started life as a Farboud in 2002, named for its creator Arash Farboud, before being bought out by former Marcos man Chrish Marsh and morphing into the Farbio GTS with significant changes under the skin. It then became the Ginetta F400, before undergoing a complete under-skin redevelopment (again), with a new engine (Ford Cyclone 3.7-litre V6), new chassis and a significantly revised interior.
Good to hear that they are making cars tailored to the customers requirements. I guess this is only something achievable in for low volume manufacturers though.
Good to hear that they are making cars tailored to the customers requirements. I guess this is only something achievable in for low volume manufacturers though.
Yeah, at the moment it's limited to a company who's made ONE of them with a development period of 10 years...
Normally, all of these cars get the typical praise for being a small, British manufacturer, independent, etc... And when they build it, the comments are on panel fit and it being in stiff competition with Porsche and the like.
Very true - panel fit will be pretty adjustable given its newly-developed status. I bet the performance stats quoted are pretty conservative too, unless they've fitted it with a ludicrously long-ratio box.
It actually started life as a Farboud in 2002, named for its creator Arash Farboud, before being bought out by former Marcos man Chrish Marsh and morphing into the Farbio GTS with significant changes under the skin. It then became the Ginetta F400, before undergoing a complete under-skin redevelopment (again), with a new engine (Ford Cyclone 3.7-litre V6), new chassis and a significantly revised interior.
And all this time, they've overlooked the one thing wrong with it. It's exterior. It was pig-ugly a decade ago and time hasn't been kind to it.
I know looks are subjective and all that noise, but my god its not a looker.
I know looks are subjective and all that noise, but my god its not a looker.
In a perverse kind of way that's a good thing for me, as are the poor panel gaps. It shows they've spent the money on the bits that matter to me, not on employing some over-paid artist to put a few weird curves in the bodywork.
Oh I totally agree, and it was said purely out of vanity. I'm sure its an excellent car to drive.
But in comparison to the G40R (itself a very pretty car) it just looks a bit awkward and low-rent kit car. And I don't see why saying 'well its good to drive' should be a valid excuse for poor build or design.
Or maybe it's just the choice of images on the article that aren't particularly flattering, and that I'm being overly critical of something I've not even seen in the metal
But in comparison to the G40R (itself a very pretty car) it just looks a bit awkward and low-rent kit car. And I don't see why saying 'well its good to drive' should be a valid excuse for poor build or design.
Why not, they don't come free? If they are going to throw a given amount of money at the car, I'd rather they left 2cm panel gaps and improved the handling or engine slightly, personally.
Nothing wrong with wanting a car to look good, but it's always going to compromise it somewhere else. You don't get anything for free.
In a perverse kind of way that's a good thing for me, as are the poor panel gaps. It shows they've spent the money on the bits that matter to me, not on employing some over-paid artist to put a few weird curves in the bodywork.
I'd worry that they'd skimped on everything else too, tbh.
