Zenos’s E11 and E12 sports cars could make production sooner than previously thought thanks to an injection of investment from crowdfunding.
The new scheme has been launched in order to raise £750,000 of funding, which Zenos says will help move development of the new cabriolet and coupé sports cars from the drawing board to prototype creation. Based on the roof and doorless Zenos E10 sports car (pictured in E10 R-spec above), the E11 and E12 will be more road-friendly models designed to appeal to a wider market.
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Speaking exclusively to Autocar, company founder and managing director Mark Edwards said the company was surprised to have already received £102,000 of investment for the programme after just three days of funding.
“We’ve never used crowdfunding before, but already it’s proved to be very successful,” he said. “We always want to engage our customers in the development and we thought what better way than to let them fund it.”
Edwards explained that investors were able to contribute between £10 and £50,000, with the biggest investors receiving a selection of rewards. Investing £500, for example, will earn you a limited edition Zenos print, while contributing £50,000 will land you a place on the Zenos design committee.
“Using this method, investing can make you actually become part of the Zenos team,” continued Edwards. “It’s certainly a process we could use again in future projects.”
Edwards explained that the success of crowdfunding could also help his company move towards being self-sufficient at a faster rate than before. “We’re still primarily funded by our core investors, but who knows, given how successful this looks we’re open to options when it comes to the future.”
Edwards added that this additional investment wouldn’t change the plan for the E11 and E12, so the models will still get doors and more creature comforts than the E10 while retaining its core focus of being driver-focused cars.
No further details have been released, but Zenos’s ongoing relationship with Ford means the E11 and E12 will likely be powered by Ecoboost units. The E10 R uses a 2.3-litre Ecoboost powerplant similar to the one found in the Focus RS, and insiders think this is the most likely candidate for the future models.
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