The first thing that strikes you when looking at a G4 are the car's dimensions. Is this really a road car? With a height of only a metre, the little coupe's roofline is lower than your dangly bits. The overall length of 3.4 metres is almost micro-car scale too. From the rear the curvaceous hardtop looks oversized. Like the original, the rear window and side screens are made of Perspex. The silver grey paint and the Minilite wheels contribute to the classic and retro-style feeling to an extent that only the Dare designation on the central transmission tunnel betrays its recent date of completion.

Well screwed together

The other thing that impresses you is the build quality. After all we are dealing with a built-to-order low volume specialist sports car, not some Teutonic perfect mass product. Underneath the one-piece bonnet lurks a modified, dry sumped 1.8 Ford Zetec DOHC 16V with throttle bodies and Weber Alpha Ignition, delivering 150 bhp at 6,250 rpm. Optionally you can order a 195 bhp fuel-injected 2.0 Zetec unit or even a full-race 230 bhp power plant. 

Front suspension is made up of chromed adjustable wishbones while at the rear there is an independent axle. Stopping power comes from disc brakes all round.

Getting in the tiny coupe is an exercise for well-trained gymnasts and requires a Caterham 21 style approach. Mind your head on the centrally mounted roll-bar that divides the cockpit. Once in the bucket seats, you feel instantly at one with the machine and can proceed to buckle up your harness. 

You now have become part of the rigid space frame chassis and it feels like you are literally sitting on the ground. Turn the key and the Ford Zetec fires into live with the rasp from the 4-into-1 exhaust entering the cockpit with ear-deafening violence. The whole car rattles and shakes. It's no good trying to open the windows thought - the side windows are solid frameless pieces of Perspex with holes cut out and whcih are closed off with a Perspex disc. 

We're off...

Engage first and the G4 sets off easily. The suspension set up is quite firm and combined with the 13 inch wheels (shod with 185/60 tyres) results into a very firm if not harsh ride. Potholes become your worst nightmare as the slightest bump in the road surface is sent jarring up your back. The steering feel is direct and almost go-kart like. 

In traffic the G4 behaves surprisingly well and it is more comfortable than expected. Not that you can progress swiftly though, because your outlook is limited to the top of lorry wheels and other peoples' exhaust pipes. But then this is no shopping car destined for suburbia. This car begs for open and winding B-roads. Boot it there and the G4 becomes a pocket-rocket. The Zetec needs to be revved hard but is fortunately eager to do so. 

The standard 160 bhp prove more than enough for blisteringly quick accelerations. After all the G4 is a featherweight sports car of only 650 kg.

Fast and fun the Dare Ginetta G4 certainly is, practical it is not. The G4 is undoubtedly designed with racing in mind and it might be the purest of legal road race cars currently for sale. So if you are in the market for a great little track day machine and don't fancy the eternal Super Seven why not give it a try. The fact that is still built by the people who created the original just adds to the magic of the Dare Ginetta G4.

Copyright © Jo Hemelsoet 2001

Link: www.brooke-kensington.co.uk