Ginetta G50: Driving Ginetta G50 racer
All the early indications are the G50 will make a cracking sports car
There’s something refreshing and uniquely enticing about the G50. Low, broad and curvaceous, it’s got good old-fashioned sex appeal, yet the six-speed sequential ’box, vocal (but near-standard) Ford V6 and modern balance of grip and grunt make it feel very much of its time.
It might not exude the primitive blood and thunder of the old TVR Tuscan Challenge racers, but in an age when Touring Cars sound like wasps in a biscuit tin, the G50’s gutsy growl and front-engined, rear-drive layout make it pleasing for crowd and drivers alike.
The G50 has been designed and built in-house, primarily to populate the grid of Ginetta’s flagship one-make series but also to contest the fledgling GT4 class in the British and FIA GT Championships. At around £40K it represents excellent value as a one-make racer, let alone a car fit for international GT racing.
First impressions are good. The cockpit feels far less claustrophobic than you’d imagine and you soon settle into a comfortable driving position, with the big sequential gearlever nice and close to the steering wheel. The Ford V6 makes a smooth, cultured noise, although the proximity of the whining and chuntering gearbox and diff make it a noisy place to be.
The steering is super-immediate, which coupled with an extremely quick-witted front-end and a ever-so-slightly softer rear make the G50 react in a spikier manner than you’d expect. There’s enough power to poke the tail out on the exit of Oulton Park’s tighter turns but plenty of grip through the mid-to-high-speed corners.
The G50 is a car that rewards clean, precise and disciplined driving. For the most part it delivers a proper GT-car driving experience and teaches the skills that aspiring GT3, GT2 and GT1 drivers need. And all the indications are that, once approved for production, it’ll make a cracking, fiercely focused and well-engineered sports car.
