sing parts and knowledge from Ginetta’s 2019 LMP1 car, the West Yorkshire marque has cooked up this eye-poppingly angry-looking supercar. Here, you’ve got eyes. What do you think of how it looks?
Power comes from a dry-sumped, naturally aspirated V8 that’s mounted ahead of the cockpit, but so far behind the front axle it’s practically in the footwell. The block’s milled from billet aluminium, and ought to be good for over 600bhp and 700Nm, we’re promised. Ginetta says “engine response is immediate and balancing the car on the throttle requires no electronic aids.” Eek.
The V8 drives the rear wheels through a bespoke six-speed paddleshift gearbox and carbon fibre propshaft. And carbon runs rich through the car – the body, crash structures and much of the chassis are all fashioned from lightweight weave. The car’s dry weight is 1,150kg, meaning a healthy power-to-weight ratio of well over 500bhp per tonne.
Just how quick that makes Ginetta’s new supercar we’ll discover at the Geneva motor show, along with its name. Suggestions below, please. We can report that top speed is aiming for the magic 322kph, and each of the 20-strong producuton run will set its buyer back around £400,000. Already, 14 builds slots are spoken for. Wonder if one of them is for a Mr. B. Wayne?
Yep, £400k. For a Ginetta, that’s lots. But for something that may well keep a McLaren Senna honest on a tight circuit, it’s a bargain. Senna vs Ginetta - which is prettier?
Course, it’s not been styled for beauty pageants. LMP3 racer-spec aerodynamics add up to a claim of 376kg of downforce at just 161kph, which Ginetta says is only 5 per cent less than an actual LMP3 racer. In a sly dig at the likes of McLaren and Ferrari, the company points out there’s no active trick aero on the car – the 376kg is generated the old-school way. Massive vanes, big wings, and no complicated flappy bits.
Inside, it’s all racecar. Despite being built around an aluminium and carbon honeycomb, there’s an FIA-spec roll cage welded in, a Ford GT-style adjustable pedal box, and the seats are moulded directly into the tub to save weight. Brakes are carbon-ceramic of course. Underneath, the suspension is fully adjustable for each track and B-road you plan on tackling.
So, it’s merely a track toy? Well, nope. Ginetta has fitted anti-lock brakes and traction control which are just as welcome on the road as on a track day, but there’s more. You get a reversing camera. Sat-nav. Wireless phone charging. Air-con, and heated front and rear glass.
The boot’s a whopper too – 675 litres, Ginetta reckons. “Ideal for grand touring”, the company says. Hmm. Bring on that Bentley Continental GT twin-test.
Would you pay twice what McLaren asks for a 600LT for the much rarer, potentially far louder, race-bred Ginetta?
