The Ginetta G3 and G4 is a series of sports cars, designed, developed, and built by British manufacturer Ginetta, between 1959 and 1968 and again between 1981 and 1984.[2][3] The G3 was introduced with a glass fibre body in 1959 to be followed by the very similar G4 in 1961.[4] The G4 used the new Ford 105E engine and had a glass fibre GT-style body along with the suspension updated to coil springs at the front with a Ford live axle at the rear. Whereas the earlier 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.
Design
The car was available with 3 different bodies, a 2-door coupé, a 2-door convertible and a 2-door barquette reserved for competition. The front brakes are discs while the rear brakes are drums. The turning circle is 9.1 m (30 ft).[5][6][7] In 1963, a coupé variant was introduced alongside the open-top variant and a BMC axle replaced the Ford unit at the rear.[8] In road tests, the car attains a top speed of 190 km/h (120 mph) with a 1,500 cc engine.[9] 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 2 in (51 mm) wider and 3 in (76 mm) longer than the III. Over 500 units were made up to 1969 with a variety of Ford engines.
The G4 was re-introduced in 1981 as the G4 Series IV, with a new chassis.[12] It was produced through to 1984 with approximately 35 examples built.[12] The Series IV was powered by a 1,599 cc Ford four-cylinder engine.[13]
G4 Series IV
DARE Ginetta G4
After selling Ginetta, brothers Trevor and Ivor Walklett formed a new company called Design And Research Engineering (DARE) with the intent of building Ginetta's old designs – for which there were considerable demand, particularly in Japan.[14] DARE resumed manufacture of the G4 and some other models in the 1990s.
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