Ginetta
Confusingly there is another company producing an updated G4 in the shape of Dare (Design and Research Engineering) which was founded by two of the original brothers and Trever's son Mark in 1991. DARE came about because Martin Phaff sold the commercial rights for the G4 and G12 models to a Japanese company. Ginetta Cars continued to produce the G12 and G4 for Japan. However the importer and now the owner to the rights of the cars was unhappy about the quality. So the Walkletts were approached to build the cars to the correct standard. It took two years to develop new jigs and body work for the G4 and G12. Mark Walklett then raced a new G4R in the 750 motor club roadsports series with great success. DARE also went on to develop their own range of cars, the DZ and TG and both cars were received with great acclaim.
| John Rose has written and published quite a few books on Ginetta and also a founder member of the Ginetta Owners Club. In 2005 Martin Phaff sold the rights to the Ginetta G27 to GKD Sports Cars. The G27 has since been revamped and is now sold by GKD as the EVOLUTION. Although the GKD EVOLUTION had good reviews in the Kit Car magazines, it is not sold or marketed as a Ginetta. Therefore many would say that the G4 and G12 are still the most desired Ginetta badged cars and are still made by DARE.
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Whilst the Ginetta name has adorned a great variety of cars of different shapes and sizes, there is one common thread throughout. The G4 and it's derivatives have been with us now for over forty years.
Ginetta is a remarkable British sports car and kit manufacturer. It was founded by no less than four brothers in 1958 and remained a family business for more than 30 years. Today, Ginetta lives on in the confusing form of two separate companies.
First there is Ginetta Cars, the company of Martin Phaff which bought the original Ginetta in the early nineties. The other one is Dare UK Ltd, founded by two of the original Walklett brothers. The curious thing is that both companies each produce a car reminiscent of the original G4 concept of 1961. Ginetta Cars produce the Ginetta G27 and the brand new Ginetta G20, both evolutions of the G4 theme. Dare UK produce the Dare Ginetta G4, the lineal descendant of the original G4.
The origins
Bob, Ivor, Trevers and Douglas Walklett of Witham, Essex founded Ginetta back in 1958. With an agricultural and constructional engineering background, the "automotive Bee Gees" had always felt a strong interest for motor racing. Not surprisingly then that their first car (a pre-war Wolseley Hornett based one-off special) was built for motor racing purposes. The car - retrospectively known as the Ginetta G1 - was soon followed by the G2. The latter, a Lotus VI look-a-like was built on a space frame chassis, had an aluminium body work and was powered by a Ford 8 hp or 10 hp power unit.
The G2 became the first production Ginetta. A moderate production lead to less than a hundred cars sold between 1958 and 1960. By the time the G3 hit the market in 1960, the use of GRP had become common practice amongst kit car manufacturers. Consequently, the Ford 105E powered G3 was made of glass-fibre, as would be the case with all future Ginettas. Production remained limited with between sixty and one hundred cars produced in a period of two years.
The Ginetta G4
At the 1961 Racing Show Ginetta presented their fourth model to the public. Whereas the previous G2 and G3 had been developed as mere road cars, the G4 was designed as a dual purpose road/race car - the sort of sixties' weekday commuter car you could take to the club race on Sunday.
Somehow the little G4 convertible with multi-tubular space frame chassis could be regarded of as an eclectic styling exercise with hints of Lola at the one-piece hinged front section and Lotus XI style tail fins at the removable rear section.
Double wishbones with coil springs and dampers made up the front suspension. At the rear a Ford live axle was located by upper trailing arms combined with coil springs and dampers. Four 8 inch drum brakes provided stopping power. Originally the Walkletts intended to fit the 750cc Coventry Climax engine, but they ended up with the ubiquitous (and cheaper) Ford 105E, developing 39 bhp (!) at 5,000 rpm. This may sound somewhat underpowered by today's sports car standards but the G4 could still accelerate from rest to 50 mph in 9 seconds and hit the magic 100 mph barrier. The G4, clearly following the Chapman principle of "weight is your enemy" was undoubtedly a unique little sports car and it easily gained the "Most beautiful car of the show" award.
In the next eight years of production, the G4 would benefit from many changes, including a vast array of Ford engine options whenever they became available. These included Ford 109E, 1.3 Ford Classic, 1.5 Ford Cortina GT and Ford 1.6 X-flow.
Series II & Coupe
In 1963 the Series I was superseded by the Series II which saw the introduction of the G4 coupe. The latter was the result of adding a distinctive hard top with Perspex rear and side windows to the original convertible.
In the mean time the body work was restyled and extended too: goodbye tail fins and an extra eight inches for the boot space. Underneath the glass-fibre a BMC rear axle replaced the Ford one. In combination with revised spring and dampers rates and front disc brakes this vastly improved the G4's roadholding and handling.
The G4 gradually became a well-sorted powerful and quick sports car. In a test by Motor Sport in 1964 a 1.5 Ford Cortina GT engined G4 1500 (or G5) reached a top speed of 120 mph. By 1966 the G4 had evolved into the Series III, which could be easily identified by the Lambo Miura style pop-up headlights and a front bumper.
1969 heralded the end of the line for the G4, by which time more than 500 cars had been sold. Typical of kit car manufacturers, numerous G4 variations had been offered. These included the G6, basically a G4 powered by a DKW two-stroke engine. Three G6s were built on special order for the German tuner Mantzell.
Racing
Another variant was the G7 prototype, featuring a rear-mounted gearbox and independent rear suspension. This equipment could equally be found on the official G4 race car, the G4R. Speaking of which, the G4 proved to be an instant winner on the track. As soon as Ginetta had built the required 100 cars, the G4's homologation and subsequent eligibility for motor racing were secured.
1974 G21 's' powered by the Holbay tuned Sunbeam Rapier H120 1725cc engine. Approx 69 'S' models were made. G21's were not kit cars they were all factory built in Essex. |
The Ginetta G15 which was the most popular Ginetta ever made to date. This was the rear Imp engined car which has a hugely successful racing history. |
The very rare G17 Imp engined single seater still competing today. Info and pictures generously contributed by Harvey Lowson |
Chris Meek raced so successfully with a G4 that he was offered a job as Ginetta works driver. Over the years the G4 compiled an extraordinary record of numerous race and innumerable class wins. G4s could be seen competing anywhere on the track and even of the track. Peter Davis entered his G4 in the Targa Florio, Barcelona 1000 kms and in events as tough as the Himalayan Rally. Even today G4s are still being raced in historic and 750 Motor Club races.
They say that racing improves the breed and that certainly applied to Ginetta. Inspired by the G4's success the Walkletts embarked on more serious racing projects. They developed a whole range of thoroughbred race cars, including the mid-engined G12 coupe, G16 Group 6 Spyder and even single seaters like F Ford, F4, F3 and F2 race cars. The pinnacle, a genuine F1 with BRM V12 power however never materialised. The G4 on the other hand was succeeded by the road-race rear-engined Imp powered G15 coupe.
1970's
During the seventies, Ginetta concentrated on the development of new and more up-market road cars like the G21 coupe with Ford Essex and Chrysler power. While the disastrous effects of the fuel-crisis and the introduction of VAT made many a kit car manufacturer disappear from the map, Ginetta soldiered on partly by refurbishing older models.
The eighties' G4
When the obsolete MGB, Triumph Spitfire and the TVR 3000M left a gap in the sports car market niche of 1980, Ginetta considered re-introducing the G4. But the 20 year old design looked outdated and the Walkletts were urged into updating the concept. Hence a new chassis, a new body work with distinctive T-bar roof and a new interior were designed.
They returned once more to Ford power; this time in 1.3 and 1.6 Kent and 2.0 Pinto forms. The G4 Series IV or G4/4 was born. However, despite all the modifications, the sports car buying public showed little interest and it did not take long before the G4/4 had to give way to a more thoroughly developed successor.
G27 Born
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The addition of many Jaguar sourced parts, like differential, rear discs, driveshafts and hub carriers to the reinforced chassis turned the updated G4 into a new car. In true Ginetta style the new car was renamed with the next available number, G27. With the G27 Ginetta returned to the track and again it proved a new success with wins galore.
Mark Walklett for instance raced a Mazda powered G27. The racing success inspired Ginetta to organise its own one-make series, which is today known as the Pentel Ginetta G27 Championship (for 2001 a new class for 180 bhp 2.0 Ford Zetec powered cars will be added).
V8 Power!
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In addition to the racing efforts, Ginetta developed a new range of road cars. The G25 and G32 were Toyota MR-2 style coupes while the G27 was ultimately developed in the G33 with Rover V8 power. Today, the Ginetta sales catalogue consists of the G27, the G33 and the brand new G20 (S4c).
A new Ginetta for the new Millennium
Four decades after the first G4, Ginetta has launched yet another variant on the seemingly immortal G4 concept. The new G20 roadster made its debut on the 2000 Motor Show. It can be described as a no-nonsense back-to-basics sports car, lacking doors and a windscreen. Still faithful to the Ginetta principles, the G20 relies on 1.8 Ford Zetec power (125 bhp).
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The Ginetta S4C/G20 |
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Even more remarkable than the brand new car itself is Ginetta's new marketing strategy. While models in component form (G20) are being supplied by the factory, fully built versions are offered through the internet. You can place your order on www.s4cginetta.com, but don't forget to specify a Ginetta S4c as the cybercars break with a tradition and bear a completely different badge.
The Dare Ginetta G4
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In 1989 the Ginetta family business was sold but soon the new company failed and the Ginetta name was resold, this time to an international consortium of British, Belgian, French, Japanese and Swedish shareholders.
In the meantime Ivor and Trevers Walklett, together with Trever's son Mark, had founded a new sports car company, Dare UK Ltd. From 1991 DARE - Design And Research Engineering - focused on remanufacturing the Ginetta G4 coupe and convertible road cars and the mid-engined G12 race car. At the end of the nineties Dare started development of a new sports car, the DZ. (See here ).
In June 2000 the Dare TG Sport, a more retro-style convertible saw the light of day. The TG Sport by the way, is named after Trevers Granville Walklett who died earlier in 2000. Today Dare remain the sole manufacturers of the true successor to the G4, the DARE Ginetta G4.
On it goes...
With hindsight one could think of the G4 as the most important Ginetta, although closely followed by the G15. The G4 not only provided Ginetta's first racing success, it also firmly established the Witham company as a sympathetic yet respectable small-scale sports car manufacturer. And for some reason, the G4 just will not die. The new Ginetta G20 and the DARE G4 look set to take the concept of this great little car well into the 21st century.