Zenos E10 sports car revealed

The Zenos E10 is the product of a parternship between ex Caterham bosses Ansar Ali and Mark Edwards. Together, the pair co-founded the new British sports car company, called Zenos Cars. The company plans to introduce three new models to the market over the next five years, with the first, codename Project E10, set to arrive as early as next year.

Renderings of the E10 sports car have been officially released, and show an open-top, two-seater with aggressively styled front and rear bumpers. Rear buttresses behind the cockpit are flanked by bulging wheel arches, housing oversized alloy wheels. 

It will be powered by a 200bhp mid-mounted transverse 2.0-litre Ford-derived engine, with power sent to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.  The 0-62mph sprint takes only 4.5 seconds and top speed is 135mph, while Zenos has hinted that more powerful outputs and other transmissions will also be available from launch.

Underpinned by a single ‘backbone’ aluminium extrusion with carbon fibre composite tub, the Zenos E10 has a kerbweight of just 650kg, meaning a power to weight ratio of 300bhp per tonne. The use of carbon fibre is a luxury usually reserved for high-performance supercars, but Zenos has chosen to use recycled carbon fibre. It retains all of the properties of the original material but is a more affordable alternative.

Proportionally, the Zenos E10 measures in at 180mm longer than a Caterham 7 and 265mm wider. It’ll also be better equipped than a Caterham with options including a heater, carbon leather trim and a tonneau cover. Performance upgrades also include a limited slip differential, two way adjustable dampers, roll cage, track pack and uprated brakes.

“We set ourselves the challenge of how to make the E10 design look pure and yet edgy, focused and yet accessible, raw and yet ingenious, agile and yet balanced, serious and yet fun.” Said Zenos Car co-founder Ansar Ali, “The sketches and early stage renderings we have released, we think convey the purity, agility and functional simplicity of E10 faithfully.”

Following the launch of the E10 next year, Zenos will produce a roadster and coupe version based on the same platform, initially called the E11 and E12 respectively. Both are due in 2018, with the E10 set to be unveiled to the public in the first half of 2014.