Monday 20th November 2023

Ginetta refreshes G56 GT4 with Evo package

500hp V8 racer is more efficient, faster - and better air conditioned

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We all love an Evo, don’t we? An Evolution, an improvement on what went before, a nip here and tuck there to improve on the predecessor. An indelible association with motorsport helps, too; it’s hard not to love ‘Evo’ when it conjures up faster lap times, shaving seconds off special stages and pushing the envelope yet further. This is the latest race car to have the famous appendage tacked on, the Ginetta G56 GT4 Evo. 

Fundamentally, it’s familiar, with the 6.2-litre V8 in the front and power going to the rear, but the whole of the G56 package has been overhauled in response to customer feedback over three years of racing. The aim of the Evo is to keep the G56 ‘a formidable contender in GT motorsports series globally’. As is so often the case with racing cars, aero is a significant part of the Evo package: the bonnet is new and the rear wing has been changed to improve aerodynamic efficiency. The bonnet change works in conjunction with cooling modifications to keep both under bonnet and cabin temperatures ‘optimal’, the latter in turn collaborating with better air con to keep driver temps somewhere near optimal as well. Perhaps not vital in British GT, but probably a big advantage for something like the Creventic Middle East Cup. An engine that big in a car this small is going to create a lot of heat, after all. 

Elsewhere, the G56 Evo rides on larger wheels and tyres front and rear, plus benefits from adjustments to the suspension, which aim to improve the rate of tyre degradation and make for ‘a more balanced and competitive race car over extended stints’. A victory in the four-hour Ultimate Cup race at Magny Cours, which was intended only as testing, would suggest the tweaks are working as intended.

Mike Simpson, Ginetta's Director of Motorsport, said: “The 2024 G56 GT4 Evo is an upgrade in every possible area. We have had many cars circulating in endurance racing in tough climates over the last year’s, the Evo upgrade is the accumulation of listening to customers/teams and developing what we believe is the best GT4 car on the market.”

“We have strived for greater top speeds within the Balance of Performance (BOP) management, adding weight lower down in the chassis gives us some wins in safety and torsional stiffness. The increased weight and higher ride height of the car has allowed for more emphasis on the straight-line capability of the Ginetta, making it a very competitive car for both gentlemen and professional drivers.” Bring on the 2024 season!

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• Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport unleashed
• 2020 Ginetta GT1-LT-P3 | PH Track Review

 

[TheAntics]

Put a number plate on it and take my money

[350Matt]

TheAntics said:

Put a number plate on it and take my money

They do sell a road version

https://www.ginetta.com/our-cars/for-the-road/gine...

no idea what it costs mind,

[TGCOTF-dewey]

350Matt said:

TheAntics said:

Put a number plate on it and take my money

They do sell a road version

https://www.ginetta.com/our-cars/for-the-road/gine...

no idea what it costs mind,

That's awesome. Surely the ideal purchase for those still waiting for the 'resurrected' TVR - assuming relative pricing.

[dunnoreally]

Aaaaah Ginetta. “A refreshing fart in a room full of roses” as Cohen the Barbarian once put it.

[CKY]

350Matt said:

They do sell a road version

https://www.ginetta.com/our-cars/for-the-road/gine...

no idea what it costs mind,

Indeed, saw a grey one in Leeds of all places wearing the registration ‘B15’, I was unaware of a road variant prior to this! It sounded good and stood out like a sore thumb - pity none of the motoring hacks have deemed it worthy of a road test yet; slap a Porsche badge on it and they would probably all be clamouring for one as a long termer…

[Slowlygettingit]

CKY said:

350Matt said:

They do sell a road version

https://www.ginetta.com/our-cars/for-the-road/gine...

no idea what it costs mind,

Indeed, saw a grey one in Leeds of all places wearing the registration ‘B15’, I was unaware of a road variant prior to this! It sounded good and stood out like a sore thumb




Ginetta are based in Leeds of all places - iirc.
Might be the company demonstrator doing the lunch run.

[redroadster]

A simple muscle car as previously said tvr can't provide the goods ,if I'd have been tvr I'd have bought previous corvette and restyled it and rhd job done but alas won't see anything ,so well done ginetta .

[cjb44]

Dandarez, will be frothing at the mouth I suspect.

[GTRene]

350Matt said:

TheAntics said:

Put a number plate on it and take my money

They do sell a road version

https://www.ginetta.com/our-cars/for-the-road/gine...

no idea what it costs mind,

I did asked them a while ago about their loving G10 RM version, that is a bit more expensive, and that one comes in 2024 and will be around 250k incl UK tax.

so I guess the G56 will be around 175k? no idea, who askes them, maybe its a 100k car? could be interesting for UK car friends, sadly with high C02/BPM tax crazy green hoax, it will be plus 80k extra tax (not 21% btw tax) or so for that sort engines.

[jrb43]

If I recall, PH members have tried to buy Ginettas in the past and found it extremely difficult: they are not massively keen to sell cars. Unclear on the business model. When I was a boy in the late 80s, someone at the local RC buggy club had a G32. I've not seen a road going Ginetta since.

[LotusOmega375D]

My memory of watching the Ginetta BTCC support races on ITV4 was that the bonnets always use to fly open. If they’re worried about engine temperatures on this model, they could just supply it without a bonnet and save everyone the hassle of it coming adrift.

[LennyM1984]

jrb43 said:

If I recall, PH members have tried to buy Ginettas in the past and found it extremely difficult: they are not massively keen to sell cars. Unclear on the business model. When I was a boy in the late 80s, someone at the local RC buggy club had a G32. I've not seen a road going Ginetta since.

I think that they are not hugely interested in selling ROAD cars. Most Ginettas are sold as race cars where the fit and finish requirements (etc) are much lower. I have a Ginetta and whilst it is fantastic as a race car, had I bought it as a road car, I think I would have been constantly calling the factory to complain. Given that Ginetta are able to shift a load of race cars without this hassle, I can see why they wouldn't be particularly bothered about selling cars for road use.

[blueg33]

jrb43 said:

If I recall, PH members have tried to buy Ginettas in the past and found it extremely difficult: they are not massively keen to sell cars. Unclear on the business model. When I was a boy in the late 80s, someone at the local RC buggy club had a G32. I've not seen a road going Ginetta since.

Laurence is only interested in racing and making money. Road cars to not fulfill his needs...........

[braddo]

blueg33 said:

Laurence is only interested in racing and making money. Road cars to not fulfill his needs...........

I guess he has had his fingers burned with the experience of the G60 and the G40R road cars.

This G50 lineage have always been great looking cars and an appealing package.

[PistonTim]

braddo said:

blueg33 said:

Laurence is only interested in racing and making money. Road cars to not fulfill his needs...........

I guess he has had his fingers burned with the experience of the G60 and the G40R road cars.

This G50 lineage have always been great looking cars and an appealing package.

They have 3 road cars (well 2 plus an upcoming supercar) with a whole set of pages on their website though, so they clearly have intention of selling something which makes the feedback about them being hard to buy interesting!

[SpudLink]

jrb43 said:

If I recall, PH members have tried to buy Ginettas in the past and found it extremely difficult: they are not massively keen to sell cars. Unclear on the business model. When I was a boy in the late 80s, someone at the local RC buggy club had a G32. I've not seen a road going Ginetta since.

The road cars are rarer than a rare thing. Earlier this year I met a chap with a road legal G32, however it was at a race track, and arrived on a trailer. A few years ago a G33 turned up at a PH Sunday Service.

[Mark-C]

PistonTim said:

braddo said:

blueg33 said:

Laurence is only interested in racing and making money. Road cars to not fulfill his needs...........

I guess he has had his fingers burned with the experience of the G60 and the G40R road cars.

This G50 lineage have always been great looking cars and an appealing package.

They have 3 road cars (well 2 plus an upcoming supercar) with a whole set of pages on their website though, so they clearly have intention of selling something which makes the feedback about them being hard to buy interesting!

No prices and no hint of availability though ...

[garypotter]

You are guaranteed exciting racing and number of cars at any Ginetta only race,

Good luck to them with this new Evo version and hopefully we will see them at the front in the gt series.

[Mark83]

Who makes the engine? I hope it's the Mercedes M156 6.2 V8 out the old C63.

[braddo]

Mark83 said:

Who makes the engine? I hope it's the Mercedes M156 6.2 V8 out the old C63.

Almost certainly Chevy or Ford.

This is the 3.7 V6 in the G55, which looks like a V8-sized block. Basically a 5.0L V8 with a pair of pistons and rods removed.


I've just remembered some AMGs were entered in the Aussie V8 supercars for a year or two with the M156 V8, but with a flat-plane crank installed. They made a hell of a noise!

Edited to add video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFmpLAliiuA

Edited by braddo on Tuesday 21st November 18:32