RE: Ginetta G4
Discussion
Fizz,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.
I didn't buy the car from GoGinetta so I haven't got first hand experience in dealing with them. The previous owner bought the car from them back in August. He didn't say much about GoGinetta other than he preferred to deal directly with DARE in the UK. Obviously, I was concerned that he was selling the car so soon. He said that it was a little tight for his 6'2" frame, although he stated that his wife was keen for him to sell it as she worried for his safety. His intention was to replace it with an Austin Healey.
I am 5'11" and have no trouble getting in or out and once in, I find that the driving position is just perfect. No reliability problems but I have only done about 300 miles so far.
If you are thinking about a G4, if at all possible, I strongly suggest you sit in one first to make sure it is a fit for you. You also need to understand that this is very close to a race car and may not suit you for the road ... e.g. no sound insulation, firm ride (but no worse than the Mustang I had back in 1991!), Virtually no padding in seats, so-so heater, No a/c, radio, electric gadgets.
On the other hand it is very well made ... super smooth and shiny body with good fit with the exception of the boot lid which is on a par with my Healey ... nice leather race-type seats (but note my comment on padding), tailored carpet, chromed suspension which is a work of art in itself, super performance, exclusive, blast to drive, a beauty to look at, etc. etc.
In summary, I wouldn't make this your only car, but it makes an awesome drive-it-when-I-feel-like-it car.
As far as LHD vs. RHD ... I hardly notice it is RHD and it is certainly no issue on the road, except perhaps when dealing with toll booths!
I hope that helps.
Andy
>> Edited by SilverG4 on Monday 30th December 01:17
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.
I didn't buy the car from GoGinetta so I haven't got first hand experience in dealing with them. The previous owner bought the car from them back in August. He didn't say much about GoGinetta other than he preferred to deal directly with DARE in the UK. Obviously, I was concerned that he was selling the car so soon. He said that it was a little tight for his 6'2" frame, although he stated that his wife was keen for him to sell it as she worried for his safety. His intention was to replace it with an Austin Healey.
I am 5'11" and have no trouble getting in or out and once in, I find that the driving position is just perfect. No reliability problems but I have only done about 300 miles so far.
If you are thinking about a G4, if at all possible, I strongly suggest you sit in one first to make sure it is a fit for you. You also need to understand that this is very close to a race car and may not suit you for the road ... e.g. no sound insulation, firm ride (but no worse than the Mustang I had back in 1991!), Virtually no padding in seats, so-so heater, No a/c, radio, electric gadgets.
On the other hand it is very well made ... super smooth and shiny body with good fit with the exception of the boot lid which is on a par with my Healey ... nice leather race-type seats (but note my comment on padding), tailored carpet, chromed suspension which is a work of art in itself, super performance, exclusive, blast to drive, a beauty to look at, etc. etc.
In summary, I wouldn't make this your only car, but it makes an awesome drive-it-when-I-feel-like-it car.
As far as LHD vs. RHD ... I hardly notice it is RHD and it is certainly no issue on the road, except perhaps when dealing with toll booths!
I hope that helps.
Andy
>> Edited by SilverG4 on Monday 30th December 01:17
My best frame of reference would be the last two cars I have owned ... a 1997 BMW M3 and a 2000 BMW M5.
First, let me say that the engine still felt tight when I got the car with only 800 miles on it. I have only done 300 miles since and not taken the car above 5500 rpm yet. That said, I can still say that the Ginetta is the easiest to launch from a standstill ... I have the optional "widebody" with 205's on the back and they have great grip. 0-60 seems on a par with the M5 (obviously better than the M3) although the M5 keeps up the pace a lot longer than the Ginetta (the M5 is a quick 11.3 secs to 100 mph/13.2secs for the 1/4 mile and has impressive acceleration particularly above 100 mph). The Ginetta supposedly tops out around 130 mph and I suspect it would feel pretty light at the front at this speed ... I'll take it to the track and find out sometime. I doubt that many cars would beat it in the 0-60 ... there's a huge advantage in it's light weight. I'm looking forward to some better weather and then I'll be able to tell you more.
Andy
First, let me say that the engine still felt tight when I got the car with only 800 miles on it. I have only done 300 miles since and not taken the car above 5500 rpm yet. That said, I can still say that the Ginetta is the easiest to launch from a standstill ... I have the optional "widebody" with 205's on the back and they have great grip. 0-60 seems on a par with the M5 (obviously better than the M3) although the M5 keeps up the pace a lot longer than the Ginetta (the M5 is a quick 11.3 secs to 100 mph/13.2secs for the 1/4 mile and has impressive acceleration particularly above 100 mph). The Ginetta supposedly tops out around 130 mph and I suspect it would feel pretty light at the front at this speed ... I'll take it to the track and find out sometime. I doubt that many cars would beat it in the 0-60 ... there's a huge advantage in it's light weight. I'm looking forward to some better weather and then I'll be able to tell you more.
Andy
I haven't driven an Elise S2 so I just read the road test to find out more about it ... a lot of the road test could easily apply to the Ginetta, so they are similar in concept. I did see an S2 at a British Car show in New Jersey and wondered how he managed to get it on the road and then I noticed the plates were for a trailer! Some guy in Florida has been arrested recently for bringing them Stateside illegally.
Well, back to the question of whether I would choose a Elise over a Ginetta ... no I wouldn't. Most of the cons of the Elise apply to the Ginetta, so I'll focus on the pros ... similar weight but my G4 is 180bhp versus the Elise's 120bhp. The G4 is also a "real" classic ... the Elise just brings to mind Classic Lotus. On the other hand, I love them both
Well, back to the question of whether I would choose a Elise over a Ginetta ... no I wouldn't. Most of the cons of the Elise apply to the Ginetta, so I'll focus on the pros ... similar weight but my G4 is 180bhp versus the Elise's 120bhp. The G4 is also a "real" classic ... the Elise just brings to mind Classic Lotus. On the other hand, I love them both
Playing devils advocate a little here as what I'd take isn't exactly clear cut, but factory spec Elise's were/are available with up to 190bhp (actually a bit less but that's how they were sold). There weren't many though as the S1 S190's were built primarily for racing though I believe there were about 50 road legal ones also. I've seen a S2 S190 also so it looks like they're doing it again.
Personally given a choice between a boggo Elise and a G4 I'd probably take the G4. However if it was an S1 S135 Elise, I'd take that without exception...
The original S135's were, IMO the best Elise there has been. The engine was hiked in power by Janspeed to in the region of 140bhp+. 135bhp was quoted as a minimum though in reality most of them were around the 145bhp mark. The only engine upgrade in the Elise that didn't come with a downside. Torque was up and it behaved impeccably unlike the later S160 that wasn't massively more powerful, idled badly and had to be thrashed to get the best out of it.
Though that wasn't what made the big difference. That came from the C/R gearbox that supplied perfect ratios for the uprated engine. A hoogly expensive option in it's day it is the best modification that you can make to any Elise. Also the suspension was uprated with ARB's from the S190 and was set up correctly (this was the last of the Elise's that didn't have understeer dialed into it to stop numpties from stuffing them). Competition brakes and pads were also added, excellent Corbeau bucket seats, Momo wheel and generally little tweaks here and there to make it the perfect road/trackday car.
To drive they are sublime. The steering is perfectly wieghted and geared, perfomance is shocking given it's reletively modest power levels and handing is amazing. IMHO this is probably one of the most perfect sports cars that has ever been built. The standard Elise I find dissapointing, the higher powered ones are flawed and the S2 is an abomination (albeit a well built one).
They have their faults don't get me wrong. Lotus build is reknowned for being poor in certain respects and that's fairly justified. But one thing they do better than anyone else is chassis and the Elise has a stormer.
As for the Elise not being a classic, it already is and is an assured future classic. Such is the impact it's had on the sportscar and trackday market here. Certainly Caterfields and Elises outnumber all other cars on trackdays and rightly so.
>> Edited by juansolo on Thursday 2nd January 11:10
Personally given a choice between a boggo Elise and a G4 I'd probably take the G4. However if it was an S1 S135 Elise, I'd take that without exception...
The original S135's were, IMO the best Elise there has been. The engine was hiked in power by Janspeed to in the region of 140bhp+. 135bhp was quoted as a minimum though in reality most of them were around the 145bhp mark. The only engine upgrade in the Elise that didn't come with a downside. Torque was up and it behaved impeccably unlike the later S160 that wasn't massively more powerful, idled badly and had to be thrashed to get the best out of it.
Though that wasn't what made the big difference. That came from the C/R gearbox that supplied perfect ratios for the uprated engine. A hoogly expensive option in it's day it is the best modification that you can make to any Elise. Also the suspension was uprated with ARB's from the S190 and was set up correctly (this was the last of the Elise's that didn't have understeer dialed into it to stop numpties from stuffing them). Competition brakes and pads were also added, excellent Corbeau bucket seats, Momo wheel and generally little tweaks here and there to make it the perfect road/trackday car.
To drive they are sublime. The steering is perfectly wieghted and geared, perfomance is shocking given it's reletively modest power levels and handing is amazing. IMHO this is probably one of the most perfect sports cars that has ever been built. The standard Elise I find dissapointing, the higher powered ones are flawed and the S2 is an abomination (albeit a well built one).
They have their faults don't get me wrong. Lotus build is reknowned for being poor in certain respects and that's fairly justified. But one thing they do better than anyone else is chassis and the Elise has a stormer.
As for the Elise not being a classic, it already is and is an assured future classic. Such is the impact it's had on the sportscar and trackday market here. Certainly Caterfields and Elises outnumber all other cars on trackdays and rightly so.
>> Edited by juansolo on Thursday 2nd January 11:10
One of my friends just purchased the yellow G4 at the www.goginetta.com website.
The car looks better in the flesh than it does over the internet. It is very small--but slightly easier to get into compared to the Elise.
Too cold to drive it right now (too much salt!), so hopefully, we'll get some piccies for you G4 fans.
It is a great looker!
The car looks better in the flesh than it does over the internet. It is very small--but slightly easier to get into compared to the Elise.
Too cold to drive it right now (too much salt!), so hopefully, we'll get some piccies for you G4 fans.
It is a great looker!
B19GRR said: Who're are the best people to talk to about getting a G4 in the UK, GoGinetta, Brooke Kensington or Dare themselves? Not much info apparently on the web about these little beauts! Any idea how much you'd be talking for one with the 195bhp 2l zetec?
Either Brooke Kensington or Dare, though Brooke Kensington in Biscester are your nearest. As for price you'd have been looking at £20k + extra for leather seats, metallic paint etc. when I tested one a year back, so could be a bit more now.
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