Zenos E10: Driven
We've followed the Zenos from the start - now we get our first drive
The list of promising looking British sports car start-ups is sadly a lot longer than those who've actually made a success of it. Into this world steps Zenos, the E10the first of a three-car line-up based on an intriguing and distinctive engineering premise that brings exotic tech like carbon tubs and pushrod dampers to an eye-catching price point.
From CAD drawings to driver's seat of the E10 doesn't seem to have taken all that long. But since we first met Zenos founders Ansar, Mark and Chris - all ex-Caterham and/or Lotus - they've gone from wooden sizing bucks in a small industrial unit next door to Hethel to their own production facility in nearby Wymondham. Which, as chance would have it, will be hosting a PH Sunday Service just this weekend. What a coincidence!
Starter's orders
Zenos customers are now being offered test drives and shakedown sessions in prototype E10s on road and track, involvement in the development process correctly identified as an attractive brand building USP. It's a brave move but a canny one. Meaning if there's something about the car you don't like on delivery it was your fault for not letting them know on the test drive!
PH gatecrashed one of these customer clinics at Brands Hatch last week, jumping in the E10 for a few laps of the Indy circuit on a busy track day plus a quick run on the local lanes during the lunch break. And make no mistake, this is a proper prototype. Switchgear hangs loose off its wiring, the gearshift linkage is exposed in a trough in the trademark central spine (actually quite cool - maybe they should leave it like this!) and the feel is definitely that of a hardworking development mule.
As driven the car has the normally aspirated 200hp Ford 2.0-litre engine - basically a non-turbo Ecoboost rather than a Duratec - with the six-speed manual gearbox and limited-slip differential options that can be added to the basic E10 package.
Set the bar
First impressions count and are entirely favourable. For starters it looks brilliant and immediately distinctive, even among the Caterhams, Ariels and Radicals prevalent on any British track day. We've already discussed the functional inspiration behind the design - easily replaceable coloured 'wings' over recycled carbon tub - but at an aesthetic level it's both purposeful and eye-catching and far more exotic looking than its price point might suggest.
Jumping in the next thing that strikes you is the amount of space in the cockpit. Even in SV form a Seven can be a squeeze for the more powerfully built track day fanatic - ditto a Radical - and not everyone is going to dig the uniquely thrilling sense of exposure you get in an Atom. The closest comparison is the Lotus 2-Eleven, which isn't entirely surprising given the backgrounds of the blokes who built it. Indeed, the mechanical layout and 2,300mm wheelbase matches that of the Elise platform, the Zenos broader in front track and a substantial 160mm wider than a 2-Eleven - more or less the width of that trademark extruded aluminium spine.
That generous footprint means plenty of space in the footwells - can we request a bolt-on rest for our clutch foot please! - and there's no need to be rubbing shoulders with your passenger as there is in a Seven or Radical. Sturdy side protection tubes lining the carbon tub's skin add reassurance too.
Footloose
The space allows for a properly stretched out driving position and room to work, pedals perfectly placed with a wonderfully solid feel to the brake and perfect alignment with the accelerator for fancy footwork. The spine means the gear shifter feels unusually high but its position, rally car style, at the same height as the wheel quickly feels natural. Prototype patina or not you get the sense the fundamentals have been thoroughly thought out.
The motor fires with a thrum, stabs of throttle revealing pleasing schlooops of induction noise that, for the occupants, provide more feedback than the exhaust. Clanks from over your shoulder as the gears slot home add a further sense of mechanical interaction, control weights all light and immediately inspiring confidence.
So it plays out on the track too. First impressions are of easy-going accuracy and the kind of willingness to change direction you only get from lightweight cars. Wide and low, the Zenos corners flat, though the suspension is supple enough to let you play with weight transfers to try and offset a degree of inherent understeer on the street tyres fitted for the changeable track conditions. Ali accepts that the limited-slip diff - such an anathema to his former colleagues at Lotus - plays a part this. But there is mechanical adjustability in the dampers (super easy on the inboard front ones) and front anti-roll bar to match the dynamic options presented in the handling balance.
Tune it in
In the diff equipped car a trailed brake into the corner and early application of power out of it keeps the front end where you want it and it's quickly apparent the Zenos encourages you to carry speed through the corners. The steering is fast, light and communicative without the hair-trigger pointiness of an Ariel or arm-straining weight of a loaded up Caterham, the whole package safe without being inert and fun without losing the feedback more experienced drivers will crave. Again that 2-Eleven comparison comes to mind, before realisation that even a used one of those will set you back £10K more than the base price of a new Zenos.
The induction boom signals the bit of the power band you want to be working in, though the rev limiter does cut in quite early so you need to stir the gears a fair bit. Shift lights in your line of sight would be a useful addition but the light, positive shift, crisp throttle response, easy clutch and excellent calibration between them makes this a pleasure rather than a chore. Even from this quick go it's easy to appreciate the car will comfortably take a lot more power, the newly confirmed turbocharged E10 S the one to go for if you crave a bigger performance hit. As it stands it'll have a pragmatic 250hp or so for starters but as Ali accepts there is an established market for tuning the Ecoboost engine to considerably more.
Sunday Service
On the road that approachability and suppleness would suggest a natural B-road blaster, in keeping with the target audience Ali laid out for us in that original presentation. He predicts a typical Zenos owner wants a car they can enjoy regularly on the road with the occasional track day thrown in, rather than the other way around. You can tip the balance more towards track use with options like four- or six-point harnesses and Avon ZZR tyres or go the other way and enjoy heated seats for a toasty backside on those early morning back-road blasts. You'll probably want to wear a helmet wherever you're driving though.
Opting for a middle way between banzai performance and the pure racer's focus of a downforced, paddle-shifting junior LMP car gives the Zenos a broader remit; the attractive £24,995 starting price makes it a more viable proposition for a wider range of buyers too.
It's still work in progress but the fact this living and breathing prototype matches so closely the original pitch suggests even from the beginning Ali and Edwards knew exactly what they wanted. And if success is to be measured by achieving your original objectives the E10 is off to a flying start. Of course, it won't count for anything unless the business model stacks up. But that was at the heart of the plan from the start too and you get the feeling this is one start-up with proper foundations beneath it.
Onboard in the E10 prototype round Brands
ZENOS E10
Engine: 1,999cc 4-cyl
Transmission: 5-speed manual (6-speed manual optional), rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 200@7,200rpm
Torque (lb ft): 155@6,100rpm
0-60mph: 4.5sec (claimed, TBC)
Top speed: 135mph (claimed, TBC)
Weight: c.700kg (dry)
MPG: N/A (NEDC combined)
CO2: N/A g/km
Price: £24,995 (Before options, including VAT and IVA but not including registration - see here for further details)
Zenos timeline
Zenos Project E10 - Exclusive (September 2013)
Zenos Cars - the full story (September 2013)
Zenos E10 - Design (October 2013)
Zenos E10 - Latest (January 2014)
Zenos E10 from £24,995 (January 14)
Turbocharged Zenos E10 detailed (September 2014)
Zenos Sunday Service (October 2014)
Photos: Gary Hawkins
A) The front bonnet panel has been engineered to accommodate an after-market windscreen which will be available at the point customer deliveries commence early 2015. The windscreen package will include a wiper and wiper motor. Similarly a weather hood is in development that can be fitted to the windscreen. This hood is a ‘get me home’ canvas. There are no side screens.
http://www.zenoscars.com/zenos-range/e10/e10-faq/
It looks bloody awful, yet another sh*te flat panel, ikea shaped, not good enough to be a kit car exterior which will nail the coffin shut on another promising car, it makes me sick frankly to see so little effort put into the appearance.
If you want a really stupid looking car you can by an KTEM Xbow- thats been done, please for the love of your chosen deity lets move on?
It is possible to design good looking exteriors for low volume cars (TVR Cerbera, Caterham 21 etc) but it means you have to put the ruler down and hire a designer, something egg-heads are loath to do.
It sounds like it goes wonderfully but given that it looks so eye-gougingly bad I wouldn't even bother driving one- Zenos, man up and get someone who can draw on board ASAP.
The two evaluations prototypes - EP1 and EP2 - that are testing and doing the customer drives at the moment do not have windscreens for the moment. We are building three further prototypes - validation prototypes - very shortly and at least one of these will have a windscreen fitted. Regards,
It is a constant irritation and a short-sighted obstacle to business growth, that so many track and performance cars can only really be driven by little people.
It looks bloody awful, yet another sh*te flat panel, ikea shaped, not good enough to be a kit car exterior which will nail the coffin shut on another promising car, it makes me sick frankly to see so little effort put into the appearance.
If you want a really stupid looking car you can by an KTEM Xbow- thats been done, please for the love of your chosen deity lets move on?
It is possible to design good looking exteriors for low volume cars (TVR Cerbera, Caterham 21 etc) but it means you have to put the ruler down and hire a designer, something egg-heads are loath to do.
It sounds like it goes wonderfully but given that it looks so eye-gougingly bad I wouldn't even bother driving one- Zenos, man up and get someone who can draw on board ASAP.
It looks bloody awful, yet another sh*te flat panel, ikea shaped, not good enough to be a kit car exterior which will nail the coffin shut on another promising car, it makes me sick frankly to see so little effort put into the appearance.
It looks bloody awful, yet another sh*te flat panel, ikea shaped, not good enough to be a kit car exterior which will nail the coffin shut on another promising car, it makes me sick frankly to see so little effort put into the appearance.
If you want a really stupid looking car you can by an KTEM Xbow- thats been done, please for the love of your chosen deity lets move on?
It is possible to design good looking exteriors for low volume cars (TVR Cerbera, Caterham 21 etc) but it means you have to put the ruler down and hire a designer, something egg-heads are loath to do.
It sounds like it goes wonderfully but given that it looks so eye-gougingly bad I wouldn't even bother driving one- Zenos, man up and get someone who can draw on board ASAP.
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