Zenos guns for Caterham with three car line-up

Start-up British sports car maker Zenos plans to follow up its debut E10 model with a roadster and a coupé as part of a three-strong line-up as it bids to rival the likes of Ariel, Caterham and KTM. 

Zenos Cars co-founder and former Caterham Cars boss Ansar Ali told Autocar that the firm had already received 23 deposits for the recently revealed E10, a 650kg track-focused, road-legal sports car that's powered by a 197bhp 2.0-litre Ford Duratec engine.

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He revealed that work had already begun on two further models in the range, the E11 roadster, due 2016, and E12 coupé, which is set for 2018. The pair will open new doors for the company in Europe, thanks to being type-approved for European small series production.

The E10, first seen at the Autosport International show earlier this month, has Individual Vehicle Approval, meaning it can only be sold in a selection of European countries outside the UK.

Ali said the E11 would be priced above the £24,995 E10, and would be powered by an as-yet unspecified Ford engine. The unit will be Euro 6 emissions compliant, and will likely be linked to the same five and six-speed manual transmission options offered in the E10.

The E11 will be more road based than the E10. The new model will make use of the E10's lightweight platform, which combines a single aluminium extrusion and a central tub made from recycled carbon. The E12 will be a coupé version of the E11 roadster.

Development of the initial E10 is now entering its final stages, with the focus now on performance and durability. Ali said that some owners who’ve already placed deposits for the E10 will be invited to take part in its final development ahead of the first deliveries taking place early next year.

Both Ali and his Zenos co-founder Mark Edwards are confident the £24,995 price tag of the E10 is low enough to lure further potential owners to the Zenos brand.

“The price was set clearly,” said Ali. “We looked at the market and at the customers, we asked what people would be willing to pay for the experience they wanted, and we put numbers to it.”

Ali said the E10 will offer “accessible fun and real driver engagement” for its owners. “This is a driver’s car," he said. “We designed E10 from the driver’s seat outwards. That manifests itself in everything, from the driving position to the visibility to the pedal arrangement. The driver is our primary focus.

“The important thing here is that we have a portfolio of three cars, so the funding isn’t all going into one car, it’s going into three.”