Ginetta developing all-new G40 for the road and track

Race cars are usually designed one of two ways. Either a company's engineers take an existing road car and adapt it towards racing (as with most touring, GT racing and rally cars, for example) or they start with a clean sheet of paper and design a race car from the ground up (as they do for Formula One and Le Mans prototypes). Ginetta appears to be taking a different approach, however. The British sportscar manufacturer has announced the development of a new product, dubbed G40, to slot below the G50 in its road car lineup – but there's a competition-spec model planned right from the start.

Few details have been released on the G40's specifications, but Ginetta does say that it will be powered by a 1.8-liter Ford Zetec inline-four and should weigh in at about 850 kg (1874 pounds), pack two seats and exceed FIA regulations for crashworthiness.

On the track, the G40 will be used in the Ginetta Junior Championship – a British one-make racing series for racers between the ages of 14 and 17, currently campaigned with purpose-built Ginetta Juniors in support races for the British Touring Car Championship. The G40 could also be made ready for GT4 racing as well.

Just 20 examples are planned for the first batch, and the G40 will start at £24,950 (around $40,600 USD). Interested? You can learn more by checking out the official press release after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Sean.

[Source: Ginetta]

PRESS RELEASE:

GINETTA TO LAUNCH G40!

British race car manufacturer Ginetta today announces its latest launch, the Ginetta G40, which is set to bring to market the UK's first multi-platform real road and race car.

The Ginetta G40, which has been designed by engineers at Ginetta's Leeds factory, will be fully road legal and is set to make its racing debut on the 2010 Ginetta Junior Championship grid which supports the current BTCC package.

Featuring an 1800CC sealed Zetec engine and a proposed weight of 850kg, the G40 will not only serve to elevate the current Junior series with a fresh, modern look but will also be eligible for entry into a variety of competitive racing categories - whilst addressing a vast array of safety issues. Key features of the G40 include:

· Safety cage 50 times stronger than minimum 2009 FIA homologation regulations

· Front and rear crash zones

· Updated side impact bars

· Increased occupant safety and visibility

· Adjustable interfaces to maximise comfort

· Comfortable dual occupancy

Almost two years since it launched the highly successful G50, Ginetta will produce an initial batch of twenty six G40's in January 2010 with pricing set at £24,950.

Ginetta Chairman Lawrence Tomlinson said: "The G40 will be the most versatile racing car on the market... not only will it be race worthy at a variety of levels, perhaps even GT4, but will also be enjoyable to drive on a recreational level too. I have been staggered at the level of interest already shown in the car and there is simply no better place to debut the G40 than on next year's BTCC package. With the addition of the G40 to the Ginetta range, our motorsport career ladder remains unrivalled anywhere in the motorsport industry."