Born: 1958 Nationality: British
Three motorsport enthusiast brothers, Ivor, Trevers and Douglas Walklett, built their first special by modifying a pre-war Wolseley Hornet. They called it the G1, and it was the only one of its kind.
After writing it off in a crash in their own driveway, they developed their next model, the G2, and put it into series production in 1958. It was aluminium-bodied, and was produced through 1960. After that, with the increasing use of glass-fibre in low-volume and "special" cars, they designed their next model using GRP and sold a few copies in 1960 and into the following year.
It wasn't until they introduced the G4 in 1961 that Ginetta began to establish a reputation outside the race-track. The G4 was to be as useful on the road as it was on the racing circuits, and production continued into 1969. In competition right around the world, G4s won many races.
In the meantime, the company produced a Formula 3 racing car, the G8. Other models of the period included a 4.7-litre road-going coupe, the G10, and a less powerful version, the G11, with an MGB engine. A mid-engined G12 was produced purely for GT track events, and over three seasons to 1968 it was one of the dominant cars on the circuits.
With a demand for inexpensive sports cars identified, the Walkletts designed their next important model, the G15, with rear-wheel power from the Hillman Imp Sport's 865cc engine. In all key areas of suspension, handling, shape and power they got this one particularly right and it became one of the quintessential Ginettas. So successful was it that by 1979, a considerable part of their business involved refurbishing G15s for customers, although another racer, the G16, was also produced. The next major new model was the G23, which was powered by a Ford 2.8-litre engine. This was followed by a G27, powered by a Ford Pinto engine.
After the sale of the original Ginetta Cars Ltd to a business consortium in 1989, Ivor and Trevers Walklett set up a new business remanufacturing the G4 and G12 models.
The original company by 1990 was producing a mid-engined G32, built around the engine and transmission of the Ford Fiesta XR2. But a more powerful car was on the stocks, the G33, which used a modified version of the G27 with a 3.9-litre Rover V8 engine from the Range Rover and 5-speed gearbox from the Rover SD1 coupe. It sent its power to the wheels via a Ford Sierra Cosworth differential.
Ginetta didn't have enough spare cash to get the car through the type approval process and so sold the G33 as a 'kit car', though in fact it was fully built when delivered by the dealers, with just a small buyer's 'construction manual' for the front suspension. In 1993 the car was mildly changed at the front, using headlights from the Mazda MX-5, and overall it sold reasonably well against strong competition from TVR's Griffith and the new Chimera.
Cash flow problems forced the end of G33 production in that same year, and the company had to be rescued by its dealers. A project with Volvo in Sweden resulted in a very small production of a G34, powered by a 2-litre Volvo engine, but it folded. A G40 was produced in 1998 to mark the four decades of Ginetta production, and by 2003 was available with Rover V8 or Ford Zetec engines in kit form.
BEST CAR: Of the originals, the G15 would be the choice, but the G33 is a modern classic
WORST CAR: Some early G33s had weaknesses in the chassis
WEIRDEST CAR: The G33 SC, from the rear.