Zenos brand reborn with £140,000 380bhp roadster

British sports car shaper Zenos has returned 8 years aft the institution entered medication with a caller mentation of its E10 – which volition apical retired astatine £140,000.

The Norfolk-based steadfast collapsed successful 2017, having sold conscionable implicit 100 examples of the two-seat roadster, which was priced little than rivals – £24,995 – to marque it much accessible.

Its assets were acquired by Cobra maker AC Cars, which initially offered for merchantability a fistful of unfinished E10s earlier shelving the project. 

Over the past 10 months, it has worked to revive the Zenos brand, and it has contiguous announced that the archetypal caller E10 volition get successful the 2nd 4th of 2026.

The car is mostly the aforesaid arsenic its forbear but uses a caller motor to enactment retired 380bhp.

There is 1 moving prototype – and Autocar has been fixed an exclusive drive. You tin work much successful the digital magazine, connected Apple News or by picking up a magazine.

Details are inactive limited, but RZ-badged version with which Zenos is expected to beryllium relaunched will outgo £140,000.

Less almighty and much affordable variants are nether consideration.

Like its predecessor, the E10 is simply a two-seat roadster built astir an aluminium-extruded chassis and a composite tub made from recycled carbonfibre.

It retains treble wishbones astatine each 4 corners with pushrod beforehand suspension but gains caller carbonfibre bodywork, manufactured by AC in West Sussex. 

Compared with the current prototype, the accumulation car volition get a subtle restyling, chiefly centred astir the lights.

The astir important update comes nether the bonnet. With Ford’s Ecoboost engines present discontinued, AC has opted for Volvo’s 2.0-litre turbo petrol 4 – a portion that revs to 7200rpm.

In prototype form, with a bespoke ECU, it produces 380bhp and 376lb ft of torque, driving the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.

Engineers are successful the process of reworking the E10's assemblage structure, with the rear subframe expected to power from aluminium to alloy to header with the accrued torque output.

Thanks to the usage of carbonfibre panels, the caller E10 has a target kerb value of conscionable 790kg.

Inside, it will acquisition a afloat redesign, gaining caller seats, switchgear and a cardinal show unit.