Tuesday 30th April 2019

Farbio GTS: Spotted

This is the car that came before the Ginetta G60 - and the only supercharged model of its kind

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Remember Farbio? No, not the blonde-haired Zoolander type who once got hit in the face by a goose whilst riding a rollercoaster, but the boutique car manufacturer. Having started life as Farboud in 1999 - after founder, Arash Farboud, was turned down for a Ferrari Enzo - it wasn’t until 2002 that the GTS came along. It was to be a proper driving machine, powered by a mid-mounted, bored-out 3.0-litre twin-turbo Audi V6 and featuring in-board suspension, Ohlins race dampers and a distinct lack of traction control.

In 2006 the company was taken over by ex-Marcos man Chris Marsh, who coined the Farbio name. He replaced the RS4-based unit with a cheaper alternative in the shape of Ford’s 3.0-litre V6, bolted on a Rotrex supercharger and set about readying the design for production. Carbon-fibre construction resulted in a finished product which was just 1,066kg at the kerb, meaning a power-to-weight ratio of 340hp/ton and a claimed 0-60 time of just over four seconds.

Despite sales which could kindly be described as low-volume, by the end of the decade Ginetta’s interest had been piqued, the motor racing manufacturer having been incubating the idea of a road car division for some time. The acquisition made good sense, too, not only did Ginetta gain a road-going line up, but also its own in-house carbon fibre component production facility as well - a first for the company.

In March 2012, a decade after its initial unveiling, the first Ginetta G60 was delivered to German Hubert Krae. Very little had been altered since the car’s Farbio days, with the substitution of a new supercharger and the replacement of the GTS moniker being the standout differences.

Today’s Spotted is testament to that, being as it is the only supercharged Farbio 350 in existence. Despite its driver-focussed ethos, lightweight approach and minimalist interior, the 350 isn’t short of creature comforts; air-con, full leather seats, electric folding mirrors and sat-nav all having found their way onto the options list. It looks to be in good condition, too, as it should with only 11,000 miles on the clock.

The car’s spec and rarity haven’t been quite enough to tempt anyone to part with £85,000 for the pleasure of owning it, though, which perhaps goes some way to explaining why Farboud, Farbio and Ginetta - which only kept the G60 in production until 2015 - all in turn found it a difficult sell. As a raw, driver-focussed, mid-engined machine, one crafted from carbon fibre and developed with a racing spirit in mind, it’s certainly worthy of highlighting in the annals of motoring. Today, though, if its a manual car designed around a midship Audi engine you’re after, you can get a very enjoyable one for quite a bit less.

See the full ad here.

[Bright Halo]

That looks really good from some angles and especially side on.
One of the issues with this type of car is when you get to the interior. It looks very low rent and cheap kit car.
You would have to be brave to spend your hard earn on this.

[kambites]

Bright Halo said:

One of the issues with this type of car is when you get to the interior. It looks very low rent and cheap kit car.

I suppose it depends on what you're comparing it to. Obviously the interior is not going to stand comparison to a Cayman in terms of fit and finish or aesthetic appeal, but it's a third of a tonne lighter than a Cayman. A fairer comparison would be with the Exige which I think the Farbio gets much closer to in that regard.

I don't think it can justify costing more than a new Exige though. Sure it's a very unusual car but rarity only has inherent value up to a point.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 30th April 08:46

[Gameface]

This has been for sale forever.

[davea18h]

Agree with all that's been said with regards the interiors on these types of car, mainly the dashboard and centre console set up. Can they not buy in a basic dash set up from an existing large manufacturer and modify it (to differentiate it from that maker) and to put their own individuality to it?

[ZX10R NIN]

I have to say this looks good.

[WCZ]

Gameface said:

This has been for sale forever.

at that price it'll be for sale for a very long time

[bloomen]

I'm always intrigued about how people go about selling things like this. If I were any type of dealer I simply would not bother and let it become someone else's problem.

[J4CKO]

Sort of looks like an Evora/general Lotus knock off.

[Maldini35]

That rubber door seal looks tortured

[kambites]

J4CKO said:

Sort of looks like an Evora/general Lotus knock off.

The design predates the Evora by some margin, although I think the release dates were ultimately similar. I guess it's inevitable that any lightweight transverse mid-engined sports car is going to look at least vaguely Lotusy.

[HM-2]

I remember seeing this (or at least the Farboud version) at the NEC motor show in...what, 2003 maybe? It looked great then in those pre-Evora days and I think it's aged alright in a somewhat generic way

I seem to recall they were about £85k for the top spec supercharged when Farbio were initially marketing them so the seller is evidently delusional. For £50-55k it might make an interesting curio.

[WCZ]

HM-2 said:

I remember seeing this (or at least the Farboud version) at the NEC motor show in...what, 2003 maybe? It looked great then in those pre-Evora days and I think it's aged alright in a somewhat generic way

I seem to recall they were about £85k for the top spec supercharged when Farbio were initially marketing them so the seller is evidently delusional. For £50-55k it might make an interesting curio.

I think it'd have to be closer to £40k to actually sell this car tbh

[edwheels]

Interesting car - rarity value is high. I'd completely forget the existence of these cars. Looks great from most angles and the interior is not that bad IMHO.

Shame about the dodgy spaced numberplate - that would have to go....

EDIT .... just read the ad and the numberplate is NOT included - phew!

[easytiger123]

Read article, guessed it's probably up for maybe 30/35 grand ish, clicked link to the ad, and saw it's eighty five ing thousand pounds. Good luck with that.

[roboxm3]

I used to work about 50yds away from where Farbio were once based in Sawston, Cambs and quite often had a wander past for a nose of a lunch time.

I think they moved before this model was properly finished/roadworthy but I always thought their stuff looked good and had the potential to be a success, in the same way that Noble have been, if the finished thing was executed right.

On the one or two occasions I saw one of their prototypes/mules out on the A11, it certainly looked to be going well!

[bloomen]

edwheels said:

Interesting car - rarity value is high. I'd completely forget the existence of these cars. Looks great from most angles and the interior is not that bad IMHO.

Shame about the dodgy spaced numberplate - that would have to go....

EDIT .... just read the ad and the numberplate is NOT included - phew!

There's rare and then there's obscure/semi forgotten/unwanted.

It's the type of car that might attract one buyer in several years and then they'd have to face the same wait if they ever wanted out of it.

[griffdude]

A friend of mine had one of the early Audi V6TT powered ones- it was quite rapid. As observed above, the interior was a bit tricky though.

[pistolpedro]

Visited Arash Farboud's facility in 2003 to see the prototype, proportions were great and it seemed like the perfect size for UK roads, subsequent versions never looked as good as his original (the 5 spoke wheels in particular looked ace) , nice guy, very friendly and enthusiastic

[Esceptico]

As others have said, at £40k this might be interesting to some brave soul. I wonder whether the seller thinks they can get £85k or even if they really want to sell it.

[mooseracer]

easytiger123 said:

Read article, missed the bit where it said it was 85k, guessed it's probably up for maybe 30/35 grand ish, clicked link to the ad, and saw it's eighty five ing thousand pounds. Good luck with that.