British sports racing car company Ginetta has launched the production version of the brand’s new 600bhp, V8, road-going Akula supercar, based on the concept car of the same name revealed in 2019.
The Akula is unlike any other car produced by Ginetta in the company’s 66-year history. Priced from £275,000 (plus taxes and shipping), the Akula marks the 20th anniversary of Dr Lawrence Tomlinson’s acquisition of Ginetta and will be exclusively limited to just 20 production models.
Entrepreneur Tomlinson, who won the GT2 class at Le Mans in 2006, has been fully involved with Ginetta’s development team at every stage of the genesis of the mid-engined rear-drive Akula coupé supercar, including track testing.
Intrinsically linked to and strongly influenced by Ginetta’s elite GT racing programme, the Akula embodies the company’s six decades of motorsport engineering expertise. Painstakingly handcrafted and deploying the finest materials and cutting-edge technology, the Akula combines continent-crossing touring abilities with laser-focused handling and exceptional performance to deliver unsurpassed levels of driver engagement and enjoyment on the road and the track.
Dr Lawrence Tomlinson, Ginetta Owner and Chairman, commented: “During the twenty years I have owned Ginetta, there have been countless highlights. None, though, surpass the launch of the Akula today. While our new supercar represents a very different direction for Ginetta, it also embodies our motorsport engineering and driver-focused values to the highest possible standards.
“At Ginetta, we focus on the thrill of driving and the visceral experience of piloting a car that performs like a racing machine. Anyone can build a fast car, but at Ginetta, we create vehicles that leave their drivers breathless and wanting to drive them again and again. Unlike anything else on the road, the Akula is designed and engineered to be driven to, around, and back from a track like the Nürburgring, having the luggage space to do so, while delivering an unmatched intense and engaging driving experience every step of the journey.”
Motorsport engineering expressed in its purest form
Low, sleek, and exceptionally aggressively styled, the Akula’s motorsport DNA is evident at a single glance. The two-door coupé supercar features a state-of-the-art, ultra-high-strength lightweight carbon monocoque with carbon front and rear subframes. A Ginetta steel motorsport roll cage fabricated to the highest possible standards adds further rigidity and gives the driver exceptional confidence on the racetrack.
The Akula’s wind tunnel-tested aerodynamic package was derived from the Ginetta G61-LT-P1 LMP1 race car. Combining a carbon fibre flat floor with a front splitter, turning vanes, rear wing, and rear diffuser minimises air turbulence and produces high levels of downforce to enable exceptionally high and stable cornering speeds.
Intense naturally aspirated V8 performance
The combination of the Akula’s exceptionally low 1,190kg weight and the explosive power of its 6.4-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine ensures blistering performance. Based on a Ginetta billet aluminium block and featuring a titanium engine valve train, the V8 musters 600bhp at 7,200rpm and 670Nm of torque at 5,100rpm. That’s sufficient to enable the Akula to accelerate to 62mph in a mere 2.9 seconds and reach a maximum speed in excess of 180mph.
Customers will be offered the choice of a six-speed manual transmission mated to a triple-plate clutch or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Power is delivered to the Akula’s rear wheels via a Ginetta limited-slip differential which ensures optimum traction even when that trip to a track day at Spa turns into a deluge.
In ‘standard’ guise, four-pot calipers and 360mm ventilated steel discs fitted front and rear, mated to an advanced ABS system, provide robust stopping power. Opting for the Akula Race Pack upgrades the braking package to carbon ceramic brakes for even greater braking performance and fade resistance under the most extreme hot-weather track driving conditions with the additional benefit of reduced unsprung mass.
In addition to the carbon ceramic brakes, the Akula Race Pack also features six-point Ginetta racing safety seat harnesses and Ginetta racing apparel, including a racing suit, boots, gloves, and underwear.
Agility and engagement in equal measure
The positioning of the V8 engine is a crucial factor in elevating the handling characteristics of the Akula. The unique design approach that Ginetta has taken with the Akula ensures that the areas in front of the front axle and behind the rear axle are completely free of major components and reserved exclusively for aerodynamics.
All of the Akula’s ‘large-mass’ components are contained in between the axles, which gives this supercar a uniquely low polar moment of inertia, significantly enhancing its ability to change direction. The positioning of the V8 engine in the middle of the car, pushed back behind the front axle, enabled Ginetta’s engineers to deliver a step-change in suspension design with the fitment of greater length wishbones.
This approach opened up a much broader range of possible geometry configurations, and significantly enhanced the kinematic operating range of the suspension. With this unprecedented freedom, Ginetta’s engineers were able to pinpoint an ultra-specific suspension set-up to deliver a pure and totally uncompromised handling experience.
The centrally mounted V8 engine’s location ensures a perfect 50:50 weight distribution for optimum balance and turn-in to corners, with the added freedom of better aerodynamic packaging at both the front and rear. This is further enhanced by the exceptional levels of feel and feedback provided by the Ginetta electric power steering system with a competition steering rack.
Ginetta’s engineers have taken the same motorsport-inspired approach to the Akula’s suspension system, which features a classic racing double wishbone format front and rear. These components are combined with billet aluminium uprights and pushrod-actuated, two-way adjustable racing suspension with dampers that are in-car electrically controlled allowing the driver to change the platform stiffness while on the move. The front and rear racing anti-roll bars offer full mechanical adjustment to further fine-hone the car’s set-up for track conditions.
The Akula rides on front 9.5”x20” and rear 11”x20” Ginetta racing aluminium wheels, equipped with front 265/35/20 and rear 305/35/20 Pirelli P Zero tyres.
Clive Seddon, Ginetta Technical Director, commented: “Since the Akula concept was unveiled back in 2019, the car has undergone an intensive test and development programme. We have spared neither time nor expense to fine-hone the Akula to deliver the sharpest and most immersive driving experience possible, and Lawrence has been there with the team every step of the way.
“It has been a truly unique experience to work with Lawrence to produce a car like no other on the road. We built and adapted the car with Lawrence at the wheel for every test and retest at our track. Having a Le Mans winner working with you every day to build his ultimate road-going machine can be quite a challenge but also highly rewarding. The man has no limits, and neither does the Akula in terms of delivering the ultimate driving experience.”
Continent-crossing practicality
While the Akula has been designed and engineered to deliver an undiluted track driving experience, Ginetta kept a resolute grip on practicality requirements throughout every development iteration. With a 100-litre fuel tank providing an estimated 450-mile driving range and a 473-litre boot offering sufficient luggage space for two, the Akula represents a proper, long-distance tourer and the ideal choice for a road trip to Le Mans or further afield.
Following motorsport engineering principles, the seats are designed into the carbon monocoque, with padding bespoke-moulded to perfectly match each driver’s shape. An electronically adjustable steering column and pedal box enable the owner to vary the driving position should they wish to sit closer to the motorsport carbon-fibre multi-functional steering wheel on the track and adopt a more relaxed posture on the road.
A Ginetta-developed touchscreen infotainment system supports full iOS integration, while a heated front windscreen, cup holders and wireless phone charging are also standard fit. Machined aluminium details, including door handles, air ventilation, centre console,
and carbon surround married with CNC machined aluminium details make every drive in the Akula a memorable experience.
Limited build slots available
Priced from £275,000 (plus taxes and shipping) and limited to just 20 production units, the Akula offers collectors an exclusive opportunity to acquire a supercar that represents a seminal moment in Ginetta and British automotive history. A limited number of build slots for the Akula are still available.
“My name is definitely down for Akula number one,” affirmed Tomlinson, “but I am looking forward to seeing who will join me in taking ownership of a British-built Ginetta supercar utterly without compromise.”
More information is available at Ginetta.com, and potential owners are invited to visit Ginetta.com for further information or contact Mike Simpson, Motorsport Director (mike.simpson@ginetta.com).
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