The Ginetta G55 is a race car which has been built by British sports car specialist Ginetta Cars since 2011. Developed and assembled in a factory near Leeds, G55 started its competitive life in the one-make series Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup. In the same year, the GT3 version of a car debuted in the British GT Championship.

Ginetta Cars announced a new car at the end of season 2010, announcing that G55 will be ready for the start of season 2011. Ginetta Cars, founded in 1958, has a long tradition of building race cars. Continuing to use a letter G in nomenclature, G55 was a more powerful evolution of G50, which was introduced in 2007.

Two different engines for two versions of G55

The G55 featured a Ford Cyclone 3.7-litre V6 engine, producing betweeb 355 and 370 hp. The engine is mated to a 6-speed sequential gearbox, developed by Hewland. The new car didn’t come as a replacement for the G50 but two cars competed together in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup, separated into two classes. In 2014, the series was rebranded as the Ginetta GT4 Supercup, with both G50 and G55 running in a single class but equalized through a balance performance test.

The G55 also entered the British GT Championship in its first year of existence, using the Cup engine with some GT3-spec components. For the 2012 season, the manufacturer introduced a full GT3 version of the G55, using own-built 4.35-litre V8 engine capable of produce 570 hp. The GT3 car is also using a Hewland-built gearbox.

Spreading all over the world

The Ginetta G55 GT3 made its competitive debuts in the opening rounds of the Britcar GT series at Silverstone and British GT Championship at Oulton Park, being used by three teams. The car’s first victory came at the Donington Park round of the Britcar series, with Team LNT and Optimum Motorsport scoring 1-2 result with two G55s.

In the following years, a number of Ginetta G55 cars in the British competitions rapidly grew up, but the car was also in use in different endurance and sprint competitions all over the world, such are VLN Endurance series, 24H Series or GT4 European Series. In February 2017, Ginetta G55 was also represented on the other side od the world, at Australia’s biggest GT race, the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Two consecutive class wins at 24h Dubai

The most recent notable results were two consecutive wins at 24 hours of Dubai in SP3/GT4 class. In 2016, Century Motorsport won the race with a G55 GT4 car, ahead of CWS team with the same car. In 2017, Century Motorsport’s G55 GT4 finished in the second place, behind Optimum Motorsport’s Ginetta.

GT4 title for Ginetta in the 2016 British GT Championship

In the 2016 British GT Championship, only Tolman Motorsport was using two GT3-spec G55s, finishing in the seventh place among GT3 teams. In the GT4 class, there were seven Ginetta G55s in the field. The car was victorious in five out of nine races. Optimum Motorsport’s Graham Johnson and Mike Robinson scored three wins with #50 Ginetta G55 GT4 and became British GT4 champions.

A year before, in 2015, Johnson and Robinson were the championship runner-ups, scoring one win with G55 GT4. In 2014, Bradley Ellis and Ade Barwick finished third in the GT4 standings with #46 Ginetta of Twisted Team Parker.

Ginetta G55 specifications

Chassis T45 tubular chassis and integral safety cage Length 4358 mm Width 1900 mm Height 1180 mm Weight 950 kg (Cup), 1100 kg (GT3) Engine 3.7-litre Ford V6 or 4.35-litre Ginetta Racing V8, front-mounted Power 355-370 hp (Cup), 570 hp (GT3) Gerbox Hewland 6-speed sequential manual Suspension Independent front and rear double-wishbone, with Ohlins adjustable dampers and adjustable front and rear anti-roll bars Wheels front 9” x 18” (Cup) 11” x 18” (GT3)rear 10” x 18” (Cup) 12.5” x 18” (GT3) Brakes vented discs, front 380mm (Cup and GT3)rear 330mm (Cup) or 350mm (GT3)

Photos: ginetta.com,