RE: Driven: Artega GT

[RudeDog]

dandarez said:

'...You can't tell me you're not thinking Lotus Evora right now...
But the Evora may not like the comparison, Artega seemingly able to out-Lotus Lotus when it comes to the 'add lightness' thing and the GT weighing a whole 105kg less than the Evora.'

I'm NOT thinking Evora, I'm thinking British - the GINETTA G60 - which whooped the Evora recently in AUTOCAR's test.
As for the Artega weighing a 'whole' 105kg less than the Evora, the Ginetta G60 weighs nearly 400 kg less than the Evora!!!

Autocar have a video of it up now.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/ginetta-g60-vid...

Awww, its kind of cute when die-hard fans of tiny breeds use every thread to justify their thoughts

[LordGrover]

Rather liking this.
I wish we, as a nation, could come up with more, similar ventures.

[kambites]

RudeDog said:

Awww, its kind of cute when die-hard fans of tiny breeds use every thread to justify their thoughts

It is a fair observation though. This does look like straight competition for the Ginetta - I'd love to see a comparative test between the two.

[Targarama]

I love the exterior styling. Why can't these low volume manufacturers produce a better interior? Many make Noble interiors look good. TVR managed this with the Cerbera (early 1990s) and the T cars (early 2000s design). A cleverly shaped bit of GRP and some shiny alloy bits make a big difference. Instead we get something that looks like the swanky centre console I made for my Mk1 Ford Escort with stuck on carpet bits covering MDF.

[kambites]

Targarama said:

I love the exterior styling. Why can't these low volume manufacturers produce a better interior? Many make Noble interiors look good. TVR managed this with the Cerbera (early 1990s) and the T cars (early 2000s design). A cleverly shaped bit of GRP and some shiny alloy bits make a big difference. Instead we get something that looks like the swanky centre console I made for my Mk1 Ford Escort with stuck on carpet bits covering MDF.

I think it's because small-volume manufacturers tend to be run by people who think money is better spent on making the car drive well than on the interior.

[GroundEffect]

WANT.

[JonRB]

It's compact and it's powered by a VR6. What's not to like?

[Ahonen]

The article's author is clearly a student of the legendary Troy Queef: I half expected to read that he caught it with a dab of oppo.

[Frimley111R]

dandarez][small said:

.... the GINETTA G60 - which whooped the Evora recently in AUTOCAR's test.

Oh FFS! No its didn't. They just said it was raw little sportscar and a good effort but it bore no comparison to any of the others it was tested against. There's a chasm between a new sportcar made in a shed to cars made in large factories using the latest production techniques.

Lets see it up against an Exige V6.....

Anyway, back to the Artega. A good effort IMO.

[anonymous-user]

I love it but it is just too expensive for what it is

[RudeDog]

MonkeyMatt said:

I love it but it is just too expensive for what it is

These are exactly my thoughts

[Targarama]

kambites said:

I think it's because small-volume manufacturers tend to be run by people who think money is better spent on making the car drive well than on the interior.

I understand and accept that. However they spent much time on exterior and decide to add a sat nab rear view mirror and steering wheel buttons, so they have spent some time on the interior. But then they want close to 100k Euros for a car with this interior. Not acceptable even if it can drive through tunnels upside-down. Only a small portion of buyers will be happy with this (same for the new Ginetta).

[kambites]

Yes but they only intend to sell a small number. If they made the interior nicer and charged an extra 10k for it, would these people consider it then?

The mirror and steering wheel will just be off-the-shelf components bought in, I'd imagine.

[pagani1]

There is still a huge gap in the sub £50k market for a real drivers sports car.
Unless Jaguar fill it then for me it's the second hand market, where there is a wide choice. Maybe the Artega doesn't need big numbers of sales, but it will always be a very minor choice as an unestablished brand. Well Done for the good effort though, very polished
just too expensive.

[kambites]

pagani1 said:

There is still a huge gap in the sub £50k market for a real drivers sports car.

What about the Elise/Exige, not to mention Caterhams, etc.

[Dagnut]

Good article Dan..apart from the fact you didn't mention performance figures or price

[ewenm]

kambites said:

pagani1 said:

There is still a huge gap in the sub £50k market for a real drivers sports car.

What about the Elise/Exige, not to mention Caterhams, etc.

And that's where the Ginetta G40R sits too.

[Obiwonkeyblokey]

Can I buy one in RHD approved for the UK and how much will it be including VAT? yummy

[Hellbound]

Frimley111R said:

dandarez][small said:

.... the GINETTA G60 - which whooped the Evora recently in AUTOCAR's test.

Oh FFS! No it didn't. They just said it was raw little sportscar and a good effort but it bore no comparison to any of the others it was tested against. There's a chasm between a new sportcar made in a shed to cars made in large factories using the latest production techniques.

Lets see it up against an Exige V6.....

Anyway, back to the Artega. A good effort IMO.

Thank you, the video said no such thing. Sutcliffe held back because it's a British brand. The fact is Ginetta sent out another unfinished car for review, and that shows a complete lack of professionalism. I am glad the G60 exists though. There are buyers out there who are blinkered by the perceived Britishness of a car so they'll part with their cash no matter how compromised the product is. The Ginetta is one of those. I'm sure there are plenty of Germans who try and justify the price of the Artega, but they have German rival Porsche to consider too.

Wonder why the Artega was circa £60k a few years ago and now it's over £20k more. Cost of raw materials?

[kambites]

Hellbound said:

Wonder why the Artega was circa £60k a few years ago and now it's over £20k more. Cost of raw materials?

Exchange rate differences?