Ginetta G50: the GT4 racer of 2008

The Ginetta G50 was a specialist GT4 racing car designed by Ginetta Cars and launched in 2008 to celebrate 50 years of production. A road version was planned but did not enter wide-scale production; instead the smaller Ginetta G40 was launched. The G50 became Ginetta’s best-selling car and the basis of a one-make series.

Ginetta G50 at a glance

History of the Ginetta G50

Lawrence Tomlinson and the 50th anniversary

In late 2007 the Leeds-based businessman Lawrence Tomlinson bought Ginetta Cars from the group of enthusiasts who had themselves bought it out of administration. The G50 was developed to celebrate 50 years of Ginetta production. Its base specifications were penned by Tomlinson, a trained engineer, and the car was developed in under six months.

Racing record

Launched in 2008, the G50 was awarded Autosport National Car of the Year in its first year. With its own Ginetta GT Supercup one-make series, the G50 was also the undefeated GT4 class championship winner in the British GT Championship, with five titles, and won the GT4 European Cup in 2009, beating Aston Martin, BMW and Porsche. As a result Ginetta Cars won Small Business of the Year from the Motorsport Industry Association in 2008, and in 2009 Tomlinson was nominated by the MIA for its Outstanding Contribution to Motorsport award.

Road car, EV and G50Z

The first road-registered G50 was shown in April 2008 and then took part in the Silverstone Supercar Tour. It had the same base set-up as the race car, with a proposed V8 model of 520 bhp. Retail prices were estimated from £45,000 for the V6 and £100,000 for the V8, but because of economic problems Ginetta indefinitely shelved plans for general production and built the smaller, cheaper G40 instead. In 2009, with Zytek, Ginetta built the G50 EV Prototype with a rear-mounted 90 kW electric motor and an estimated range of 150 to 250 miles; in November former Formula 1 World Champion John Surtees drove it through the Channel Tunnel, making it the first production-specification car driven through the tunnel, but production was cancelled when the company failed to secure a government grant. Also in 2009 came the G50Z for GT3 racing, with a 4.0-litre Zytek V8 later reduced to 3.8 litres and producing up to 365 kW (496 PS), a six-speed Hewland sequential gearbox with paddle shift, a front splitter, a large rear diffuser and a large rear wing.

Design and features

• GT4 racer: designed for the GT4 class and sold with its own one-make series.
• Quick development: the car was developed in under six months from Tomlinson’s base specification.
• 3.5-litre V6: the engine produced about 300 hp in the racing car.
• Racing success: five British GT4 titles and the 2009 European GT4 Cup.
• Road-car plan: a road version was shown in 2008 but general production was shelved.

Ginetta G50 versions

• G50 GT4 (2008): the racing car that gave Ginetta its GT4 success.
• G50 road car (2008): a road-registered development with the same base set-up.
• G50 V8 proposal: a planned 520 bhp version, never put into production.
• G50 EV Prototype (2009): a Zytek electric car driven through the Channel Tunnel by John Surtees.
• G50Z (2009): the GT3 version with a Zytek V8 and Hewland sequential gearbox.

The G50 was the racing flagship above the older G32 road car line, and its road-car project gave way to the smaller G40. More cars are in the Ginetta collection.

Video: Ginetta G50 GT4 on track

Video on YouTube.

Sources

• Ginetta G50, English Wikipedia: development, racing, road car, EV, G50Z
• Ginetta Cars, English Wikipedia: engine size, first race, best-selling status