Ginetta G32 1989
Ginetta Cars Ltd. was founded by the four Walklett brothers in the late 1950's.
Introduced in 1989, the G32 was a development of the Fiesta Mk1 based G25 prototype. Also using many fiesta and escort parts, the G32 was Ginetta's attempt to re-enter the type approved market. The type approval route was chosen over supplying the car in kit form following overwhelming feedback when the car was initially introduced to the public as a prototype.It was initially available with the XR3i 1.6 MFi engine. Later, a small number of examples were produced using the RS turbo engine but when this presented cooling difficulties, a 1.9 model with an engine built by Specialised Engines was introduced. Some owners have sought to bring the model further up to date by fitting Zetec engines - a move which was apparently intended by the factory had it not been for the fact that they were not able to obtain them from Ford in time for production.
Both Coupe and Convertible body styles were available with just over 100 Coupes sold and around 20 convertibles.
Early cars had a non-galvanised chassis and the Fiesta MK2 dashboard. Later models were supplied with a fully galvanised chassis and the Fiesta Mk3 dash although many of the other parts remained sourced from the Mk2. Many other minor changes such as spring rates, wheel designs etc. were introduced throughout the lifetime of the model.
The exact specification of each car was customisable for each customer in terms of trim, equipment etc. so it is unusual to find two that are alike. To add confusion, some earlier spec models were held back as show cars and demonstrators by the factory and not registered until after the later specification was released!
The car itself was probably conceived along with the G25 concept in the early 1980s, and Ginetta (who have always had strong ties with the Ford Motor Company) were ‘on-line’ with Ford's R&D facility during the design of the G32 – an arrangement that would be the norm these days, but, in the pre-Internet days of the 1980's, this was a radically new way of doing business for a small constructor.
The G32 is a fully “Type-approved” vehicle, undergoing the full gamut of M.I.R.A. tests of the day (an expensive process, even for a major manufacturer, in 1988), but passing them all. Not your average small manufacturer offering then!
The G32’s launch coincided closely with the arrival of Toyota's ubiquitous MR-2 - an obvious competitor. Matters were compounded by the fact that Ford didn't manage to get the hoped-for engine for the G32 into production early enough, and this meant that the G32 just didn’t get its Zetec in time, the engine the car was designed for, although a few of the last cars to be completed did have 1.8l Zetec engines.
In an effort to boost the G32's performance, the Ford Escort RS1600 Turbo powerplant was tried, but problems with cooling the turbo installation saw Ginetta go for the alternative of a 1.9l CVH, produced for the factory by Specialised Engines in the Midlands, as the 'performance' alternative. I've driven both models, and the bigger engine has more 'go' (torque only, really), but not by much!
Production totalled less than 120 - including less than twenty convertibles. Some of the cars were exported by the factory to Europe, and the very last of the production run (by now with the long-promised Zetec engines) were exported to the Far East (two were rediscovered in an importer's plot in Singapore, unsold, excise duty unpaid, and recovered by an Australian member of the GOC living there in the late 1990’s).
One of these cars has subsequently been restored, but the other can't be imported into the owner's native Australia, because the requisite paperwork doesn't tie up - as a ‘new car’ to Australia, it would have to pass current emissions and other tests that it couldn't hope to manage, so sadly, that's one less by now, although the parts from this car have been added to a cache of ‘spares’!
The full factory specifications:
| Engine | 4 cylinders, in line, CVH | |
| 1.6i | 1.9i | |
| Capacity | 1597 cc | 1905 cc |
| Bore | 79.96 mm | 82.9 mm |
| Stroke | 79.52 mm | 88 mm |
| Max Power @ rpm | 110 @ 6k bhp | 135 @ 6k bhp |
| Max Torque @ rpm | 138 Nm @ 2.8k | 145 Nm @ 3.5k |
| Transmission | 5 speed transaxle, hydraulic clutch |
| 1st | 3.15:1 |
| 2nd | 2.19:1 |
| 3rd | 1.28:1 |
| 4th | 0.95:1 |
| 5th | 0.76:1 |
| Transaxle | 3.82:1 |
| Performance (speed in gears) 1st | 33.8 mph | |
| 2nd | 58.5 mph | |
| 3rd | 84.5 mph | |
| 4th | 115.0 mph | |
| 5th | 120 mph | 130 mph |
| 0-60 mph/Max speed | 8.2 sec/120 mph | 7.3 sec/130 mph |
| Brakes | Vented front, solid rear discs |
| Front | 9.375 x 0.75" |
| Rear | 9.75 x 0.375" |
| Wheels | 6J x 14" | 7J x 15" |
| Tyres | 185/60 14 | 195/50 14 |
| Dimension | |
| Length/Height/Width (cm) | 3760/1168/1397 |
| Track (f & r) (cm) | 1397 |
| Wheelbase (cm) | 2210 |
| Boot capacity | 8 cu ft |
| Fuel capacity | 9.6 gallons/44 litres |
Chassis:- Jig-formed, heavy gauge, box-section, galvanised steel chassis
Suspension (front):- Independent, with double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers & anti-roll bar
Suspension (rear):- Independent with McPherson struts, lower wishbone, coil springs and telescopic dampers.
Years later, when considering something to replace my (by then) ‘run-of-the-mill tin box', I was directed to what was to become my car, on sale in Avon. Purchased and retrieved, the car had previously had a very busy life with its single previous owner, but was basically in good condition.
Although the OE power was provided by a mid-mounted 1.6l Ford CVH, with Bosch K-Jetronic mechanical fuel injection (as found on Ford’s ubiquitous XR3-i – the one with all the red fuel pipes under the bonnet!), I've since installed the engine that the car was always designed to have (the designer’s words when he saw what I’d done!), the 1.8l Ford Zetec (as used in Ford's XR-2i RS 1800), and, although this engine is currently running on Ford's standard EEC-IV engine management, I do intend to have a programmable e.c.u. to give full control of both ignition and fuel mapping - in time.
Ginetta Cars Ltd., are still in business, based in Garforth, just north of Leeds on the A1, and very successfully too - just take a look at the ITV4 coverage of the British Touring Car Championship rounds and you'll see G40's, G50's and G55’s in the support races - and they're a lot cheaper to buy and run than the Porsches that also support the TOCA package!
In addition, you will also find Ginetta cars running in Gran Tourismo (GT) Championships all around the world, including the Avon British GT Championship, where they run G50’s in the GT4 class and G55’s in GT3.
Ginetta have also competed at le Mans, and the chairman confided in me that now that they are producing the G60 Supercar, he sees no reason why they won’t be back there again, fairly soon – he’s a real le Mans fan, and a class winner a few years ago to boot.
Latest release from Ginetta is the G40R (road-going), which has had very favourable reports in the motoring press, so expect to see one or two of these ‘out and about’ in the future.
| Model | From | Appearance: | Further details: | Factory price: £ | Production |
|
G32 |
'89 | Mid-engined 2-seater sports coupé | The G32 concept began life as the G25 prototype, but evolved into a 'turn-key' production car, fully type-approved, which was never made in kit-form. High production costs meant the G32 was expensive to build, and production was stopped shortly after the Walkletts sold the company. | 14487 | 115 |
|
G32 convertible |
'90 | Mid-engined 2-seater sports convertible | Convertible looks nice with the hood down (don't they all) but less elegant when 'hooded'. Engine bay access severely limited too and side reinforcements make cockpit entry/egress more awkward than on the coupé. | 15700 | |
| G32 Turbo | '90 | Mid-engined 2-seater sports coupé | Conceived as the 'performance' model, the turbo installation near the driver's kidneys, meant that high engine bay temperatures were a concern. Although not produced for general sale a |single factory version was made as a prototype, and two 'aftermarket conversions'. These cars are still around, but cooling of the turbo is a critical issue. | 15700 | 1 (+2) |
| G32 1.9 | '90 | Mid-engined 2-seater sports coupé | Produced as a high performance version when Turbo model proved impractical, the engine was produced by Specialised Engines of Essex using a Brazilian CVH block and 'Stage 2' CVH head with high lift cam. Performance improvements mainly in more torque. | 16455 | |
| G32 CVH Efi | '91 | Mid-engined 2-seater sports coupé | Late in the production run, a few CVH-engined models were sold with Ford's own Efi system. This particular model, (and I suspect, the Zetec-engined cars) were never 'homologated' as the original version was, so may prove difficult to obtain such papers for. | ?? | ?? |
| G32 Zetec | '91 | Mid-engined 2-seater sports coupé | Towards the end of the G32 production run, the engine the car was originally designed for became available (at last) from Ford. Not many versions of this car were made, and all were for export to an agent in the Far East (Singapore). At least one has been resurrected. Meanwhile, in the UK, a number of G32 CVH cars have been 'upgraded' to Zetec power. | ?? | ?? |
Joe G