Monday 13th June 2011

Ginetta Cars Hit The Roads

Well...sort of. Le Mans road trip is part of final development

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Ginetta's G40 R and F400 road cars should be on sale in the next three to six months, according to Ginetta boss Lawrence Tomlinson.

We met up with the owner of Ginetta cars just before Le Mans for a poke around the three prototypes he'd driven down from Leeds (not personally - you can't drive three cars at once, obviously) for the Supercar Parade in the French city's centre on the Friday before the race.

The cars that Ginetta brought down were all still very much prototypes but, after a long gestation period for both the baby track-car G40 R and the bigger almost-supercar F400 which has involved all manner of trials from factory relocations to fires, the cars are finally here.

The specifications have evolved a bit, too. The G40 R, which originally started life with a 1.8-litre Zetec, now has a 180bhp version (thanks to a tweaked ECU an a bespoke exhaust) of the 2.0-litre Ford-sourced Duratec that also serves in the Mazda MX-5. In fact, pretty much the whole drivetrain, including the gearbox and differential, are now MX-5 items. Which should make the 800kg G40 R both pretty darn rapid and a capable handler.

And handle well the Ginetta ought to "We wanted to make a proper track car for the road," says Tomlinson. "That's why we've put a full FIA-spec roll cage in." He doesn't say as much, but the G40 R is clearly going to be occupying a lightweight, hardcore niche in the market recently vacated by a certain Norfolk manufacturer. At a predicted sub-£30k price point there certainly isn't anything else like it.

As for the F400, well details are a bit more sketchy on that front. There's no doubt that the Ford V6 which, like the G55 racer's, has been upgraded to a 3.7-litre V6 with 410bhp, is going to provide it with plenty of oomph (Ginetta talks of 0-60mph in 3.7secs, and a top speed of 185mph-plus), but what's less clear is exactly where it will fit in to the fast coupe market. And Tomlinson really won't be drawn on questions of price, saying only that it will be "less than half the price of a McLaren MP4-12C".

Your guess is as good as ours on that one, but that does seem to imply an expected cost of less than £100k.

Ginetta still has a long way to go before it can really call itself a manufacturer but, on the evidence of these prototypes at least, it's deadly serious about getting there.

[chazwozza]

Really looking forward to these in a few years on the used market..

[JohnnyRims]

chazwozza said:

Really looking forward to these in a few years on the used market..

You better hope that's not what everyone thinks....

[carl carlson]

chazwozza said:

Really looking forward to these in a few years on the used market..

You, me and a whole bunch of others.


Is there no stero in the G40R ?

[Justayellowbadge]

You seem to have a slight spelling mistake in the story.

It should be 'Generic' not 'Ginetta'.

[chuntington101]

Hmmmmm wonder how many of the G55 race car and G40 road car bits will fit both? G55 Road car anyone???

[alfa-chris]

snow-white G40R for me, please

[MattDell]

chazwozza said:

Really looking forward to these in a few years on the used market..

Was thinking the same.

[George H]

I like the look of that F400, but it does seem a tad pricy at half of an MP4-12C imo

[Oddball RS]

I think they look great,

The G40R is really coming together, love to see it on TB's

Not too sure what its larger brother will cost or where it will fit in, a lot of this type of car seem to have problems fitting in to the world and £100k is top end GT3 RS money, top end TVR / old Noble type money would be better, but im sure nothing is cheap to build today. (Sadly)

[lgomgf]

price is on their website...

http://www.ginetta.com/cars_f400

[toppstuff]

I am pleasantly surprised at how well the G40 is coming together. I always regarded it as a highly functional but rather ugly racecar, but in its latest iteration it is looking well resolved and purposeful. It looks like a really hard, nugetty little car that means business. I'd consider one for sure.

The f400 is lovely. Get the pricing right and it may just work out for them.

Bravo, chaps !

[Mr Gear]

carl carlson said:

Is there no stero in the G40R ?

If you want a stereo, you don't want a Ginetta.

EDIT: G40 options list -

"OPTIONAL EXTRAS

- Passenger harness"

List ends.

[Cotty]

carl carlson said:

Is there no stero in the G40R ?

I can't quite see the central console but I don't spot a sterio or heater controls. I see the race cars have no heater and just a heated windscreen. I think with our weather you would need a heater if you intended to use it all year round.

Love the G40R in white.

[Japcarnut]

lightweight gets my vote, as does naturally aspirated. http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/imgs/10.gif

[Mr Fix It]

Im sure they must cost a lot to make as well, but at £95k, that a lot of cash. Im not sure who its really aimed at. If you have that sort of cash, why buy one over a GT3 or GT3 RS? Or spend a bit less and get a speced up supercharged Lotus evora if you want that kind of mid engine handling? Although I suppose it will be rare on the road and some people like that.

[MrTappets]

lgomgf said:

price is on their website...

http://www.ginetta.com/cars_f400

Mind you that spec still says it's running a 3l ford engine, so those figures look like being a few months old.

[JohnnyRims]

Mr Fix It said:

Im sure they must cost a lot to make as well, but at £95k, that a lot of cash. Im not sure who its really aimed at. If you have that sort of cash, why buy one over a GT3 or GT3 RS? Or spend a bit less and get a speced up supercharged Lotus evora if you want that kind of mid engine handling? Although I suppose it will be rare on the road and some people like that.

That's always the problem with this sort of car, the price tag is based largely around exclusivity, and it turns out not many people are prepared to pay much for that.

I'd like to think I'd buy one if I had the money, but like most people I probably wouldn't.

[sideways sid]

MattDell said:

chazwozza said:

Really looking forward to these in a few years on the used market..

Was thinking the same.

And me!

I really want the G40 to succeed but its in a very difficult place in the market.

Someone's got to buy them and its a fairly brave guy who ignores a new 370Z/Cayman et al to go and spend his own hard-earned cash on a G40 to use as an only car.

[CraigVmax]

is the one of them no the same as the car arash farboud was building a few years ago ?

[Mr Gear]

CraigVmax said:

is the one of them no the same as the car arash farboud was building a few years ago ?

I doubt it very much. Ginetta are down-to-earth, and he is pie-in-the-sky.