UK-based sportscar manufacturer Ginetta is set to become a surprise addition to SRO’s GT2 platform.
Mike Simpson, Ginetta’s CEO of motorsport, has revealed to PMW Expo media partner Daily Sportscar that the company is currently developing a car that is due to debut in this year’s SRO GT2 series. It is an evolution of the company’s GTX model, which debuted in 2024, winning the 24H Dubai and the Middle East Cup.
“We announced that the GTX (above) was coming, with a trial invitational race at Spa last year. Now we are a long way down the development plan for our GT2 car from that,” Simpson said. “The car, which shares the core G56 chassis that is common across the Spec GTP8, GT4 Evo and GTX, boasts significant changes from its counterparts: it has a lot of power, a completely new front end with high levels of downforce and reduced drag.”
Ginetta hopes that the new car will appeal to trackday enthusiasts and will boost SRO’s GT2 European Series, which has supported grids for GT2 cars from Audi, KTM, Maserati, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche, plus invitational entries from Brabham, Ferrari and Lamborghini, since its inception in 2021.
Series support
The series has struggled to build and sustain a strong entry from season to season. Simpson and Ginetta chairman Lawrence Tomlinson believe their latest offering can change that, in a similar vein to the company’s previous support during the early days of GT4 and LMP3.
“GT2 for us is a fun place to be,” Simpson added. “They’re fun cars to drive, and in the European Series, you’re up against nice people, and you’ll have a great weekend. It’s a customer market, it’s not a place where a team will buy a car, it’s a place where amateurs buy it. There are a lot of people we can go to that would want to buy our GT2 and have a lot of fun.
“We see it as a huge opportunity for Ginetta to develop a mega bit of kit for amateur drivers. Look at the USA, race clubs like Thermal. This will be a great track car, and you can also race in an SRO series. It’s versatile.”
According to Simpson, the GT2 pre-production prototype is well into the build phase. An initial batch of 10 cars is set to be produced over the next year, with five of those to be manufactured before the end of 2025.
GT2 technical insights
Ginetta technical director Clive Seddon provided DSC with some insight into the direction of the project at this stage. “Mechanically, we know a lot of it. After the GTX program the main focus was a weight-saving exercise to meet the desired power-to-weight ratio of the championship,” he said.
“It will have a carbon body, a newly designed front bumper/splitter combination adding strength and downforce, with a new cooling package that will significantly reduce drag results,” he continued. “Behind the front wheels, a big emphasis has been on the utilisation of turbulent air flow, which is now distributed to maximize efficiency in the new side sill and floor.
“The powerplant will also be different,” he added. “Utilizing the in-house-built 6.2 V8, it is coupled for the first time with forced induction, giving a significant power and efficiency increase. Dyno testing has produced nearly 800bhp, proving the capability of the engine package. It will now be detuned to maximize fuel usage and hit around the target 630bhp”.
Summarizing the new car, Simpson said, “I think we will offer a fantastic GT2 car that is built to do the job and fit the SRO commercial requirements perfectly. It will be in the cost window, but people pay for what’s right. This doesn’t come from an expensive road car platform, which helps.
“GT2 holds a special place in LT’s [Lawrence Tomlinson’s] heart with the 2006 GT2 Le Mans 24 Hours class victory. We will very much enjoy this car, as will the GT2 European Series.”
