Since 1958, Ginetta has impressed the world with so many interesting sports cars, taking mass produced engines and installing them in clever composite bodies that would turn any Ginetta into a real racing car. This time however, the British specialist car builder has decided to build a supercar from scratch and unveiled this baby at the Geneva Motor Show 2019.
Called Akula, after the Russian word for “Shark”, the new Ginetta supercar looks fairly impressive, but its spec sheet make it ten times more interesting. Design-wise, this car blends a few elements from the Ginetta G55 with the company’s G58 LMP1 prototype car, so we can’t say it’s entirely brand new, but it has so many small tweaks and custom elements meant to take this car’s aerodynamic profile to perfection.
The deep front nose helps this sports car produce 376 kg of downforce at speeds of around 100 mph, while the massive rear wing and a full underbody diffuser ensure optimal air flow as well. The Ginetta Akula is also very light, weighting in at just 1,150 kg thanks to its carbon fibre monocoque body, with its weight distributed 49% to the front axle and 51% to the rear part of the car.
The most important feature hides under the hood though, where a powerful 6.0-litre, naturally aspirated V8 engine is ready to unleash 600 bhp and 700 Nm. All this power goes to a six-speed sequential paddle-shift gearbox that was specially developed by Hewland Engineering, with a carbon propshaft.
The Ginetta Akula also comes with carbon ceramic brakes, cool side exit exhausts and a gorgeous set of wheels that have been also designed and manufactured in-house by the British automaker. The car’s suspension was probably built with track-use in mind, featuring an adjustable pushrod-activated double wishbone system that was also borrowed from the Ginetta’s LMP1 racer.
Inside the cockpit, there’s a lovely carbon fibre steering wheel that was also inspired from the LMP1 car, while the rest of the interior boasts Alcantara and various carbon fibre and billet aluminum details. Despite the fact that this car looks like a real racing car, it also comes with many technologies for daily use: park sensors, ABS, automatic headlights, air conditioning, reverse camera, traction control or heated front screens. You could even charge your phone wirelessly in the Akula and no one would mind.
The new Ginetta supercar will be produced a limited series of just 20 examples, with production set to begin in the first months of 2020. Apparently 20 of them have been already sold, so if you like what you see, you might need to hurry up because there are only 8 left!
