Zenos E10

[Slash]

Since stepping down from the CEO position at Caterham in 2012, British businessman Ansar Ali together with fellow former Caterham executive Mark Edwards went on to start their own car brand, Zenos. At the 2014 Autosport International motorsport event this week, Zenos presented its first product, a new track car dubbed the E10 that goes on sale in Europe later this year, priced from £24,995 (approximately $41,000).
Ignoring the similarities between the E10 and Caterham’s recent AeroSeven concept, which is due to spawn a production version, given its affordable pricing and specifications Zenos’ car should be able to carve out its own niche in the track car market. Zenos’ E10 also has the advantage that it is road legal in most of the markets it's been announced for.

The E10 is a two-seater roadster powered by a mid-mounted 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine sourced from Ford. The engine delivers 200 horsepower and 154 pound-feet of torque, and should provide some pretty interesting performance considering the E10 weighs just 1,433 pounds. Zenos estimates a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 135 mph. The transmission is a five-speed transverse unit.



Underpinning the vehicle is an aluminum central structure to which additional aluminum subframes and a safety cell is added. Double wishbone suspension is used at both ends, with Bilstein dampers as standard. Optional goodies include a six-speed transmission, limited-slip differential, OZ wheels (16-inch front, 17-inch rear), and uprated brakes.

The driver and passenger sit in a carbon composite monocoque mounted to the central structure and constructed from recycled carbon fiber and thermoplastic. Such a solution is said to be lightweight, strong and cost-effective.

“In designing the car, it was a fine balance; we wanted it to look aggressive without having an outrageous attitude,” Ali said in a statement. “We’d already communicated the engineering of the car, so people knew what underpins it, but the reaction to the design and the pricepoint from the press, industry and potential customers has been really positive.”

Note, Zenos isn’t slowing the pace of its future model development now that its first car has been released. Based on the same chassis architecture as the E10, further models are in the pipeline for the next five years including another roadster and a GT coupe.

Thoughts?

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

Incoming lawsuit from KTM in 3.. 2..1..

 

[ND4SPD]

Incoming lawsuit from KTM in 3.. 2..1..

It's like if the Chinese tried to copy an X-Bow.

 

[Jahgee]

It's like a KTM, but better looking

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Better looking and much cheaper (I think) than the X-bow.

 

[G.T.Ace]

They could've at least used a different colour.
It doesn't look a lot like the X-Bow except for the red panels.
Maybe they did it on purpose for the publicity.

 

[Zenith]

Honestly reminds me of a cheaply slapped together children's Buzz Lightyear Kiddie Kart. Maybe it's fast and well put together but that design...

 

[Brutaka]

I like it but the seats seem a little too big.

 

[NoobMan DS]

It's the Caterham AeroSeven Concept's evil twin!

To me, it looks closer to that than the KTM X-Bow. At its current state, it also looks better than the AeroSeven to me. The contours have a more dynamic and less rigid look. But again, the AeroSeven's still a concept and we won't see a production version until 2015, it seems.

 

[kennylmao]

With a name like that I was expecting it to be electric or at least a hybrid.

 

[kikie]

Me like and me want right now.

650kg is not much and combined with 200hp and mostly 209Nm is more than enought to have fun. If you have the right tires to provide enough grip.

 

[JohnBM01]

Kind of like a British X-Bow. Pretty cool. I dig it. The folks at KTM may not like it so much.

 

[eran0004]

Ugly. Let's hope it's fast and blurry on the track.

 

[Slash]

Engine and transmission sold separately....from the already $40k asking price. And then a bunch of options that are pretty much an necessity.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/...the-u-s-first-car-priced-from-39500?fbfanpage

 

[Nessy]

I like this car, clever use of materials as-well (ie: drinking straws used as inner core construction).
I think the design was largely influenced by Anthony Colard's 'Ducati Desmo 32RR' concept sketch..

It's probably just a coincidence, but there was an open source design thing called 'Project Splitwheel', which involved Caterham, a few years ago. Anthony Colard's design was mentioned (not by Caterham themselves), but the design seemed to fit well with a vision of a future Caterham, and was quite popular amongst the participating crowd.

 

[JMoney]

I like the taillights, but the rest of it looks stupid. Not as ugly as the KTM or Ariel. I'll take an LCC Rocket or a Caterham over this thing.

 

[madmax1982]

Here is a review of the E10 S :
http://www.automobile-sportive.com/guide/zenos/e10s.php

 

[05XR8]

I would have named it Z10 rather than E10.