Autoblog: Ginetta developing brand new G40 for the road and track

A7XFan22

A7XFan22

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Race cars are usually designed one of two ways. Either a company's engineers take an existing road car and adapt it towards racing (as with most touring, GT racing and rally cars, for example) or they start with a clean sheet of paper and design a race car from the ground up (as they do for Formula One and Le Mans prototypes). Ginetta appears to be taking a different approach, however. The British sportscar manufacturer has announced the development of a new product, dubbed G40, to slot below the G50 in its road car lineup ? but there's a competition-spec model planned right from the start.

Few details have been released on the G40's specifications, but Ginetta does say that it will be powered by a 1.8-liter Ford Zetec inline-four and should weigh in at about 850 kg (1874 pounds), pack two seats and exceed FIA regulations for crashworthiness.

On the track, the G40 will be used in the Ginetta Junior Championship ? a British one-make racing series for racers between the ages of 14 and 17, currently campaigned with purpose-built Ginetta Juniors in support races for the British Touring Car Championship. The G40 could also be made ready for GT4 racing as well.

Just 20 examples are planned for the first batch, and the G40 will start at ?24,950 (around $40,600 USD). Interested? You can learn more by checking out the official press release after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Sean.

PRESS RELEASE:

GINETTA TO LAUNCH G40!

British race car manufacturer Ginetta today announces its latest launch, the Ginetta G40, which is set to bring to market the UK's first multi-platform real road and race car.

The Ginetta G40, which has been designed by engineers at Ginetta's Leeds factory, will be fully road legal and is set to make its racing debut on the 2010 Ginetta Junior Championship grid which supports the current BTCC package.

Featuring an 1800CC sealed Zetec engine and a proposed weight of 850kg, the G40 will not only serve to elevate the current Junior series with a fresh, modern look but will also be eligible for entry into a variety of competitive racing categories - whilst addressing a vast array of safety issues. Key features of the G40 include:

? Safety cage 50 times stronger than minimum 2009 FIA homologation regulations

? Front and rear crash zones

? Updated side impact bars

? Increased occupant safety and visibility

? Adjustable interfaces to maximise comfort

? Comfortable dual occupancy

Almost two years since it launched the highly successful G50, Ginetta will produce an initial batch of twenty six G40's in January 2010 with pricing set at ?24,950.

Ginetta Chairman Lawrence Tomlinson said: "The G40 will be the most versatile racing car on the market... not only will it be race worthy at a variety of levels, perhaps even GT4, but will also be enjoyable to drive on a recreational level too. I have been staggered at the level of interest already shown in the car and there is simply no better place to debut the G40 than on next year's BTCC package. With the addition of the G40 to the Ginetta range, our motorsport career ladder remains unrivalled anywhere in the motorsport industry."
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What the hell is with that crappy model?
 
I could have done that on zmodeler...
 
Thing is that Ginetta is a tiny little car maker, with low to no budget.

But, they consistently make lovely cars that look good and drive well.

You can't say that about a lot of multimillion dollar budget cars from big manufacturers.
 
Sorry to bump this two-year-old thread, but I think this is better than making a new thread. Basically, the G40 racing car has been turned into the G40R road car, and now it's production ready.

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Here is what Steve Sutcliffe of Autocar thinks of it:
What is it?
The G40R is Ginetta?s most recent foray into the road car market, and it?s a car designed predominantly for track day enthusiasts who like to drive, rather than trailer, their machines to the circuit. It costs ?29,950 and Ginetta hopes to find homes for around 100 cars each year, a modest but realistic target from a company that has, in recent years, concentrated purely on building racing cars. The engine is a tuned 2.0-litre Ford Duratec lump that develops 175bhp at 6700rpm and 140lb ft at 5000rpm ? in standard form. This can be pumped up to anywhere between 200-280bhp if the customer so requires (and they have the budget to match) but even with 175bhp the rear-drive G40R is decidedly rapid. And that?s because it weighs a mere 840kg with half a tank of fuel on board, giving it a power-to-weight ratio far in excess of even the fruitiest hot hatchbacks on sale today.

What?s it like?
Even when you blip the throttle at a standstill there?s an immediacy of response to the G40R that?s simply not there in everyday cars of 2011. The clutch is heavy, the big ventilated disc brakes heavier still underfoot (they?ll be lighter on the production models) but the throttle weight is sweetly judged, and as it moves away the G40R feels alive and direct beneath your backside.
And yet the ride is actually pretty decent for such a small, lightweight machine. At parking speeds the non-assisted steering seems heavy to the point of being cumbersome. But the moment you get going the weight disappears and is replaced by a deliciously crisp response. There?s a feel and precision through the G40R?s steering the like of which you might not have experienced in a car with a roof on for a very long time; and the lack of movement required at the rim to exact a change in direction is akin to that of a single-seater racing car.

As for the performance, handling and brakes, there?s a lot that?s good, some bits that are very good and only a few things that grate about the G40R. On paper it?s quick enough to just about deal with a Renault Clio Cup in a straight line while driving rings around it in corners. But on the road it feels way fruitier than that, partly because there?s a lot of noise to accompany what is undoubtedly a decent amount of thrust, but mainly because it has such an amusingly well sorted rear-drive chassis ? which can be endlessly adjusted by playing with the dampers if an owner so wishes.
But what?s really appealing about the G40R on the road is the sensation of speed you get when driving it. Because of the exhaust bark and the proximity of your backside to the road itself, the G40R always feels faster than it actually is. Which is good.

As for the way it can be hurled at corners and drifted gently through them, with either a quarter turn of understeer or a full armful of oversteer ? depending how committed you are with the throttle and what?s coming the other way ? the G40R is just a hugely entertaining car to drive. One that also benefits from a snappy six speed manual gearbox (courtesy of the MX5) a proper limited slip diff at the back (ditto) and more pure braking power than most other road cars on sale.

Because in the end, that?s what 840kg and a set of big ventilated discs at each corner does for you. Take away the inertia of a normal road car (ie its weight) and replace it with a bespoke, track-developed set of underpinnings and you can?t help but end up with a smile on your face. And that?s precisely what the G40R delivers. OK, it may be somewhat basic in its appeal, lacking the luxuries of most other road cars ? although it does boast a boot that can swallow two sets of golf clubs plus a cabin that?s sparse but acceptable for everyday use. But ultimately it?s the absence of sophistication that makes the G40R such a simple but refreshing car to drive.

Should I buy one?
It might not be everyone?s cup of tea, but for the committed enthusiast who?s looking for a fast, affordable, uncomplicated means of driving to ? and then ruling at ? tracks days, there?s nothing else quite like the G40R. Not only does it provides a clear and welcome indicator that Ginetta is back in business making road cars, it?s also a sign post of what?s to come. And that could be very exciting indeed.

Steve Sutcliffe
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Video here...

EVO's test of the race car...

I have to say I really like this, great to see that there are still people around who think that 'less is more', especially these days when everything about performance cars seems to evolve around power and sophisticated electronics to impress people with stopwatches...
 
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I'm not used to the one-piece front-end..in white it looks too plastic...and those panel gaps!!

Not sure if I like it or not....lots to like and lots of reasons it doesn't quite grab me.
 
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