Ginetta
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| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1958 |
| Founder | Walklett brothers |
| Headquarters | Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom |
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Key people
|
Lawrence Tomlinson, Chairman |
| Products | Sports cars |
| Parent | LNT Group |
| Website | Ginetta.com |
Ginetta Cars is a British specialist builder of racing and sports cars based in Garforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Ginetta was founded in 1958 by the four Walklett brothers (Bob, Ivor, Trevers and Douglas) in Woodbridge, Suffolk. Their first product sold as the Fairlight was a glass fibre body shell priced at £49 for fitting to Ford 8 or 10hp chassis. The first car, not destined for production, which subsequently became known as the Ginetta G1, was based on a pre war Wolseley Hornet six.
From their original base, the company moved to Witham, Essex in 1962, and between 1972 and 1974 operated from larger premises in Ballingdon Street adjacent to the railway bridge Sudbury, Suffolk before returning to Witham where they remained until 1989. Under the Walkletts, Trevers was mainly responsible for styling, Ivor for engineering, Douglas for management, and Bob for sales.
Following the retirement of the Walkletts in 1989 the company was sold but failed, and was then bought by an international group of enthusiasts, based in Sheffield, and run by managing director Martin Phaff producing the G20 and G33
In late 2005 Ginetta was acquired by LNT Automotive, a company run by experienced racing driver and successful businessman Lawrence Tomlinson. His aims remained in line with the original founders of Ginetta; to continue producing innovative, capable and above all, great value sports cars.
In mid-2007 Ginetta moved to a factory near Leeds, with a target to sell 200 cars a year. Trained engineer Tomlinson himself penned the base specification for the Ginetta G50, which was produced to celebrate 50 years of Ginetta production, and became a successful GT4 car.
In March 2010, Ginetta acquired the Somerset-based sports car manufacturer Farbio, and re-badged their car the Ginetta F400. In March 2011, Ginetta launched the G55, running in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup and built to the GT3 class regulations. In October 2011 Ginetta launched the G60, a two-door mid-engined sports car developed from the F400 and powered by a Ford-sourced 3.7-litre V6 engine.
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