Skip to main content

Ginetta’s Akula Supercar Is a Bloodthirsty, Street-Legal Racing Machine

Ginetta

Ginetta debuted its predatory 2020 Akula supercar at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland (March 7-11) and it drew crowds like blood in shark-infested water. The Ginetta Akula pulls its design from the aerodynamics of race cars, becoming a chopped-and-screwed, street-legal 200-mph track machine.

It will be the “flagship road car” for the U.K.-based boutique automaker, which has kept its name quiet from the general public since its founding in 1958. If Ginetta doesn’t ring the same supercar bells that McLaren, Apollo, and Aston Martin do, that’s because the brand is too cool for most of us, as it’s been focused on racing-specific Le Mans-type equipment for the majority of its existence.

Now that the name is out, Ginetta is banking on us digging up the company’s extensive racing history. “Racing at the highest level has taught us that to win you have to have your overall car concept and every detail exactly right, and we’ve brought that same philosophy to our newest supercar,” says Ginetta chairman Lawrence Tomlinson.

The 2020 Akula was inspired by, and surpasses in top speed, the Ginetta-Juno P3-15 and Ginetta’s G58, a sports prototype that succeeds the G57 P2. The G58 is an absolutely savage set of wheels which proved its superiority by winning its debut race at the Silverstone 12 Hours in 2018. The G58 packs a hungry 6.2-liter V8 engine, which prompted the Ginetta engineers to say “what the hell?” and endow the Akula with a similar 6-liter V8 engine and a super-light carbon fiber body — it weighs only 2,535 lbs.

Ginetta - All New Supercar

“Akula” translates to “shark” in Russian and may also refer to a type of nuclear-powered attack submarine deployed by the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Akula also means “transcendental” in Sanskrit, but since the supercar’s color is called “Typhoon Black,” we’re guessing Ginetta is equating its two-seat beast to a shark-like machine. Plus, the rear tail is reminiscent of a hammerhead, the headlights are focused and beady, and deep gills cut down the center of the hood and rear sides.

Tomlinson confirms the Akula was “designed to cut through the air like a shark through water, the car unquestionably means business, and I’m proud to be manufacturing a car of such significance in the U.K.”

Akula will cost roughly $371,234, (£283,333), but can you really put a price on something that looks this good?

Editors' Recommendations

Jahla Seppanen
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Born and raised off-the-grid in New Mexico, Jahla Seppanen is currently a sports, fitness, spirits, and culture writer in…
F1 Las Vegas: Here’s how much it all costs, and what you get, starting at $500
F1 Las Vegas may cost you $500 - or it might cost you $15,000
F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix

F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Nate Swanner / DTMG

This week, F1 descends on Las Vegas for the first-ever Las Vegas Grand Prix, a race encompassing a large swathe of the famous Las Vegas Strip with four turns around the new, iconic MGM Sphere. The vent promises to be absolutely incredible; the backdrop of Las Vegas alone is reason to be here - but how much will it cost you?

Read more
A Tesla owner transformed his Model X into a van life vehicle, complete with a bed and camp kitchen
Tesla owners love their vehicles, but this is commitment
Aerial shot of YouTuber Everyday Sandro outside his Tesla Model X.

Living the van life is one thing. But most of us don't aspire to live out of our cars for any length of time. They're cramped, there's no bathroom, and, if you've ever tried sleeping in your car, you know that it just sucks. One YouTuber decided to take on the challenge of living out of his Tesla. With a bit of customization and some ingenuity, he managed to travel the United States for an entire year in relative comfort.

Like all great (read crazy) ideas, Sandro van Kuijck's cross-country road trip started as an experiment of sorts. The YouTuber, who goes by Everyday Sandro, bought a Tesla Model 3 EV and tested his car camping skills in and around Texas in 2022. In the early days of his trip, he confirmed that he was getting kicked out of pretty much everywhere, and constantly having to pay to charge his electric car was crazy expensive. But he soon learned how to set up privacy screens and sleep at public charging stations to avoid detection by cops and other nosey passers-by. Using the PlugShare app, he could also find free charging stations to keep the cost of refueling his electric vehicle down.

Read more
Ford F-150, Ram 1500, and Chevy Silverado 1500 pickup trucks get poor ratings on IIHS backseat safety test
How do large pickup trucks measure up on safety?
Ford F-150 gets poor rating on IIHS backseat safety test test.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently reported distressing news about large pickup trucks. The Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado 1500, RAM 1500, and Toyota Tundra crew cab pickups had good results overall in crash tests, but the trucks did not do as well on a test that focuses on backseat passenger protection.
How did the pickup trucks fare?
When the IIHS crash tested 2023 crew cab versions of the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, Ram 1500, and Toyota Tundra, the trucks earned acceptable to good ratings in side crash tests but didn't do well on a moderate overlap front crash test. The latter test assesses injury risk to adults and children in the back seat.

The institute's research showed the risk of fatal injury with newer vehicles was greater for passengers wearing seat belts in the back seats than for people belted and seated in the front seats. As a result of that finding, the IIHS developed the new moderate overlap test in 2022.

Read more