Ginetta Cars Limited is a British specialist builder of racing and sports cars based in Garforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Ginetta was founded in 1958 by four Walklett brothers (Bob, Ivor, Trevers and Douglas) in Woodbridge, Suffolk. Their first product, the Fairlight, was a glass-fibre body shell priced at £49 for fitting to a Ford 6.0 or 7.5 kW (8.0 or 10.1 hp; 8.2 or 10.2 PS) chassis. The first car, not destined for production, which subsequently became known as the Ginetta G1, was based on a pre-war Wolseley Hornet six.

In late 2005, Ginetta was acquired by LNT Automotive, a company run by race car driver, engineer and businessman Lawrence Tomlinson. His aims were in line with the founders; to produce innovative, capable and great value sports cars.

In mid-2007, Ginetta moved to a factory near Leeds, with a target to sell 200 cars per year. Tomlinson himself penned the base specification for the Ginetta G50, which marked 50 years of Ginetta production and became a successful GT4 car.

In March 2010, Ginetta acquired the Somerset-based sports car manufacturer Farbio, and re-badged their car as the Ginetta F400.

Farbio (formerly known as Farboud, and along with Arash) is a boutique supercar manufacturer by Iranian-born entrepreneur Arash Farboud. To date, the company has created 2 vehicles: the Farboud GT and the Farboud GTS prototype.

2008 Farbio GTS

g2

Ginetta's first car, the G2, was produced as a kit car for enthusiasts and consisted of a tubular frame chassis to take Ford components and aluminium body. About 100 were produced. The G2 was mainly offered with the 1172 cc four-cylinder Ford Anglia engine.

Resembling a Lotus 6, the G2 used a space frame and aluminum body. Power was supplied by the then popular Ford E93A engine with Ford transmission and rear axle to complete the drive train. Production of the G2 was less than 100 with some saying that were less than 50 built.

g3/g4

The G3 was introduced with a glass fibre body in 1959 to be followed by the G4 in 1961.

The G4 used the new Ford 105E engine and had a glass fibre GT-style body along with the suspension updated to coil springing at the front with a Ford live axle at the rear. Whereas the G2 and G3 had been designed for racing, the G4 was usable as an everyday car but still was very competitive in motorsport with numerous successes. In 1963, a coupé variant was introduced alongside the open-top variant and a BMC axle replaced the Ford unit at the rear. In road tests, the car attains a top speed of 190 km/h  with a 1,500 cc engine. The series III version of 1966 added pop-up headlights. Production stopped in 1968 but was revived in 1981 with the Series IV which was 51 mm  wider and 76 mm  longer than the III. Over 500 units were made up to 1969 with a variety of Ford engines.

g15

The Ginetta G15 was a British sports car made by the Ginetta company in Witham, Essex between 1968 and 1974. The car was initially available only in kit form but later some factory built examples were available. It was launched at the 1967 London Motor Show.

The body was made of glass fibre and was mounted on a tubular steel chassis. The engine and four speed transmission were taken from the Hillman Imp range and were rear-mounted driving the rear wheels. The suspension was by independent coil springs at the front and rear with the front steering/suspension derived from the Triumph Herald. The car used 13 in (330 mm) wheels as opposed to the 305 mm of the Imp giving higher gearing. The front compartment where the engine would have been on a front engined car contained the fuel tank and spare wheel leaving no room for luggage.

The first few cars retained the Imp rear cooling radiator but tended to overheat so in 1969 a Mk II version with front mounted radiator with electric fan was fitted instead which cured the problem. The Mk II also had a revised dashboard and improved seats. A heater and windscreen washers were optional extras.

The 1970 MK III had larger rear quarter light windows.

g21

Ginetta attempted to break into the middle-sized sports car market with the G21, which was supplied with a choice of two engines; the Ford 3 litre V-6 or four-cylinder 1,725 cc Sunbeam that developed 79 bhp at 5,200 rpm.

Believed by some to be the finest Ginetta. Looks, performance and convenience were the keynotes of this design. The 21s were powered by the Rapier 1725 which gave respectable performance and excellent handling. The finish was to a very high standard and allowed ample room for two. A radio could even be installed and listened to while driving, something the G4s were incapable of.

The 1.7 litre Sunbeam Rapier engine subsequently became the standard four-cylinder engine for the car. 80 cars in total were produced before production ceased in 1974 due to the oil crisis. The car was later morphed into an open top G23 and G24 coupé version but none of those variants went to production.

grs tora

1982-1989

Trevor Walklett owned a 1968 Hillman Hunter which had been put up due to rust.^[14] Inspired by the success of the Dutton Sierra estate kit car, Ginetta developed a Range Rover-inspired fibreglass station wagon body for installation onto the Hunter's underpinnings. Called the GRS Tora Mark I it was first shown in October 1982, going on sale the next year. Although it was a two-door estate, it used the front doors of a four-door Hunter. These are shorter than a normal two-door design, leading to limited rear seat access and somewhat awkward proportions. More troubling was that the Hunter's fuel tank and filler location meant that the rear gate opening was very high, limiting the cars utility. In October 1983, a GRS Tora Pickup was shown. In August 1984, the GRS Tora Mark II started deliveries.

At the July 1989 Newark Kit Car Show, Ginetta showed a GRS Tora Mark III. Unlike previous models, this was a four-door estate (of a rather beefy appearance) on Ford Cortina saloon underpinnings. It used the doors as well as the taillights of a Mark IV Cortina four-door saloon, and had Cortina engines or the option of a Perkins diesel. Only two were built, and Ginetta went back to its main business of making sports cars. All in all, about 320 Toras of all variants were built.

g26, g28, g30 and g31

Following reorganisation, the company moved to Scunthorpe and began making cars in kit form again in the 1980s starting with the G27 and followed by the G26, G28, G30 and G31, with all cars using Ford parts. The G26 was the first model to arrive, in 1984. The G26 and G31 both used flip-up headlamps; the G26 and G30 were fastback coupés while the G28 and G31 had a notchback profile.

The design used the Ford Cortina Mk3/Mk4 drivetrain and parts installed in a galvanized steel chassis of Ginetta's own construction. Originally, only four-cylinder engines could be fitted, but the G28's taller bonnetline made room for Ford's Cologne V6 engine. The bodywork was fibreglass, although the doors were the Ford Fiesta's steel units. The rear window on the fastback designs was also from the Fiesta, while the sportier notchbacks used the small window from the Sierra XR4i. 280 G26 were built. While the G31 was the last addition to the G26 line, it sold pretty well, with around 70 cars finished. Six G28 and fourteen G30 were finished, although since these cars were only available as kits it is unknown how many kits were actually sold. The total production of the G26 and its derivatives is about 370 cars.

dz

Developed by the Walklett brothers of Ginetta fame, it was first shown at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1998, it created a bit of a stir although not many people took the project seriously and few expected to see any cars making it to the public highways and byways.
This 2 seater wedge shaped sportscar was available as a convertible or in coupe form with gullwing doors. It used a 2.0 Litre Ford Zetec 16-valve, producing 130 bhp (naturally aspirated); 210 bhp (supercharged).

GKD Sports Cars is a small-volume car manufacturer based in Boughton Monchelsea, near Maidstone, Kent, with workshops at Lenham. GKD Sports Cars produce two models, the GKD Evolution and the GKD Legend.

GKD Sports Cars was founded in 2006 when company MD Peter Lathrope purchased the Ginetta G27 project. The car was then modified to improve aerodynamics and styling. The company won car of the year 2006 from Which Kit Car magazine with the Evolution. This included winning 5 out of 7 categories in the competition. In 2008, the company launched two new models, with the Evolution being upgraded to use BMW 3 Series (E36/E46) running gear and then launching a new model, the GKD Legend at the Exeter Kit Car Show in November. This received a very warm welcome with the press and public, as both cars are the first mainstream kit cars to use BMW 3 Series E36/E46 running gear.

Because of the Evolution's background, GKD launched the first production hard top for the Ginetta G27. GKD also supplies upgrades and parts for the Ginetta G27.

gkdtuning.com

g50

After Ginetta was acquired by Lawrence Tomlinson in 2005, the company began work on the design of the Ginetta G50 - utilising a 3.5 litre V6 engine, generating a power output of 305 PS - to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary. In 2007, the car competed in its first race in the European GT4 Cup, in Nogaro France, finishing second.

Soon after this success, the car was officially launched at Autosport International in early 2008 alongside its sister car, the Ginetta G50 GT4. Together, they have become Ginetta's best selling cars, and have race wins that include the Dubai 24 Hour endurance race in 2012 with Optimum Motorsport.

In 2008, the Ginetta G50Z was announced. Intended for GT3 class racing, the car featured a 4.0-litre Zytek V8 engine which was then down graded to 3.8-litres before the car was sold to privateer teams due to the mechanical problems. The engine produced 496 PS in the highest trim. 

g60

In March 2010, Lawrence acquired the Somerset-based sports car manufacturer Farbio, and in doing so inherited the F400, which was subsequently redesigned, redeveloped and rebranded from the Farbio Marque, into the Ginetta G60; a two-door mid-engined sports car which shares the same 3.7-litre V6 engine as its G55 GT3 stablemate and is capable of 0–100 km/h in 4.9 seconds, with a top speed of 266 km/h.  The car was developed with driver focus in mind and therefore lacks an Anti-lock braking system, power steering and other modern technologies.^[2] It is constructed with a carbon fibre skin on a tubular steel chassis with a carbon fibre tub to maintain a low weight of 1,080 kg.

In November 2015, Ginetta ended production of the G60 citing poor sales and manufacturing that became increasingly cost prohibitive.

akula

The Akula is a reflection of Ginetta's rich heritage in motorsport, a flagship car designed with function over form. The car was built from the ground up, starting with a full carbon monocoque, aerodynamics taken straight from an LMP-Car and a mid-engine design resulting in a driving experience that focuses on YOU, the driver.

 “Akula” is the Russian word for shark, and it’s also a range of Soviet-era nuclear submarines.

Making the go is a mid-mounted naturally aspirated, in-house engineered, 6.0-liter V-8 producing over 600 horsepower and 700 Nm of torque. The 6.0-liter V-8 connects to a bespoke six-speed sequential paddle shift transmission, which feeds the rear wheels through a carbon-fiber prop shaft. The 2020 Ginetta Akula competes with mainstream rivals like the Lamborghini Lamborghini Huracán Performante, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, and the Ferrari 488 GTB.

The Michelin Ginetta GT4 SuperCup is a single-class race series which features both the Ginetta G50 and G55 sports cars; running in support of the British Touring Car Championship.

The championship began as the Ginetta G50 Cup in 2008, supporting the British Formula Three Championship and British GT Championship. In 2009, it moved to support the BTCC. In 2011, with the introduction of the Ginetta G55, the championship became the Michelin Ginetta GT4 SuperCup.

The 2014 season will be the fourth running of the Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup, but it will be the first year in which the G50 GT4 and G55 GT4 cars are consolidated into one single class. In order to maintain fair competition, the two models will be equalised through a balance of performance test.

ginetta-zytek gz09s

The Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S was a LMP1-class Le Mans prototype race car, built by Zytek Engineering following their partial merger with Ginetta. It was an evolutionary update of the Zytek 07S, with the bodywork altered for the 2009 LMP regulations. The GZ09S/2 was a LMP2-class version of the same car (for 2011, it became a LMP1-class car, due to rule changes, and became known as the Zytek 09SC.) In 2011, its successor, the Nissan-engined Zytek Z11SN, made its competitive debut, following the latest rule changes to the LMP regulations. The GZ09S was retired at the end of that season, as it was no longer eligible to compete.

The GZ09S used a 4.5 litre, 635 hp Zytek ZJ458 naturally-aspirated V8 engine. It was designed for the new LMP1 regulations that were announced for the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans, and it was an evolutionary update of the Zytek 07S. 

G60-LT-P1

The Ginetta G60-LT-P1 is a non-hybrid Le Mans Prototype built by Ginetta for use in the LMP1 category for the FIA World Endurance Championship, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The G60-LT-P1 had its competition debut at the 2018 24 Hours Of Le Mans, after financial issues led to the withdrawal of the car at the initial round of the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours Of Spa Francorchamps. Ginetta announced a new LMP1 chassis, built to the 2018 LMP1 non-hybrid rules, and designed by Adrian Reynard, as well as Paolo Catone.^[1][2] The car would mark the return of Ginetta to the top tier of endurance racing, LMP1, 8 years after the previous LMP1 built by Ginetta, the Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S was made obsolete by the 2011 LMP1 regulations.

After the conclusion of its private testing programme at the Ciudad del Motor de Aragón, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and the Circuit Paul Ricard, Ginetta announced that both cars would be powered by upgraded AER P60C engines, replacing the AER P60B engines. It was also announced that both Ginettas were also set to appear at the 2019/20 FIA WEC Prologue test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in Spain on 24 July 2019.