British sportscar manufacturer Ginetta has revealed to DSC that its new G56 GT4 EVO will make its global debut in customer hands next year.
The new evo package, which is being revealed two years after the original G56 GT4 made its debut in 2021, brings significant revisions in key areas to ensure that Ginetta’s flagship GT car remains competitive globally for the remaining years in its seven-year lifecycle.
Speaking with DSC, Ginetta’s director of motorsport, Mike Simpson, said the Yorkshire-based marque has placed the bulk of its focus on a revised bonnet and cooling system that dramatically cools both the engine area and cockpit.
Additional revisions have been made to the car’s feeling on track too. There has been attention paid to tyre heat and degradation to give the best possible race car over a stint. This has been achieved with revised suspension and roll development, higher platform height, a larger front wheel and larger tyre on both axles.
“We have learnt a lot since the current car first hit the track and have made quite a big upgrade,” he said.
“There have been major changes to the cooling package around the engine and into the cockpit. There are improvements to air-conditioning to reduce the cockpit temperatures. This is because we’ve seen that a lot of newer cars have very high cockpit temperatures, so we want to ensure our drivers feel refreshed.”
Ginetta has also made gains in straight-line speed and aerodynamic efficiency.
“The front aero package is different,” Simpson added. “The bonnet in particular is visually striking and you can see immediately that the rear wing profile has changed as well as the rear clam exhaust system.
“To strive for greater top speeds and better BOP management, we have added weight lower down in the chassis which also gives us some wins in safety and torsional stiffness. The increased weight and higher ride height of the 2024 Evo will allow more emphasis on the straight-line capability of the Ginetta making it a very competitive car for the gentlemen and professional driver.”
All this, Simpson said, addresses the existing car’s weaknesses on track and should make the car competitive at a wider range of circuits.
“In GT4 you want an all round car,” he added. “Because you want your car to have a chance anywhere in the world.
“We are giving up a bit of corner speed to make it stronger on the straights, but it should have good corner entry balance which will give gentlemen drivers the confidence to attack and brake late without ruining the rear tyres.
GT4 has to be our biggest export going forward. We feel we are there now and the evo car will be a market leader
“We think it will be really good on rear tyres. It should be good towards the end of a stint. We don’t think you will see so much of a drop-off.”
Ginetta’s plan for the G56 GT4 EVO in its first year of competition is to build 20 cars, of which Simpson says “half are already spoken for” from its existing customer stable.
Beyond that, Simpson believes the new car provides Ginetta with an opportunity to relaunch its presence across Europe and beyond.
“We need to get back on the European scene, we had such a good place in the marketplace with the G55,” he said. “At one point we had 14 cars in the FFSA French GT series alone. It will be tricky to start with as we need to demonstrate it.
“However, we have made sure that even with these revisions the car remains competitively priced, at £170,000.
“GT4 has to be our biggest export going forward. We feel we are there now and the evo car will be a market leader.”
To ensure the car is ready for competition, Ginetta has put the G56 GT4 EVO through its paces extensively on a dyno, on its Blyton Park test track and at Silverstone. It also won the 4 hours Ultimate Cup race at Magny Cours this last weekend in its global race debut, driven by Lawrence and Freddie Tomlinson and Mike Simpson.
