Discussion
I don't normally do 'Readers Cars' threads, mostly because I'm not really one for modifying and adventures are few and far between these days with young children but as a few people have expressed an interest, here is a recent purchase, a Zenos E10.
A friend expressed an interest is going halves with me on a Caterham. The idea seemed a good one as we both have several other cars so use would be extremely limited. I don’t have space for another car but luckily my friend has a huge car barn following a move in to the Kent countryside last year.
Having had a Caterham before it would have had to have been a bit different to my last one, and then we happened upon a Zenos for sale, a car we both enjoyed reading about back in 2014/15. I actually happened upon a launch event in Autumn 2014 at Brands and was interested to hear how the car developed from then on.
It was a n/a with the 2.0 Duratec, registered late in 2020 as it had seemingly been sat around in a showroom for years. The price of the car with upgrades probably would have been circa £40k and we paid a lot less (like, half) than that for a car which had 1200 miles on the clock and had been registered just 18 months before.
This particular car is one of (possibly) only 4 with the 2.0 n/a engine in the UK as most are the Turbocharged S or even the R which uses the lump from the Focus RS MK3. We were after something for mostly road use and not having had a 'lightweight before, he didn't want any more than 200bhp initially. The car itself has had a lot spent on it with upgraded brakes, suspension, Sports exhaust, carbon interior, 6 speed box, cool air ducts and also came with a windscreen!
The Zenos configurator is still live I think and from that it suggests the E10 has around 200 bhp, is just under 700kg and gets to 60 in around 4.5 seconds. Top speed is apparently 140 ish.
Within hours of the ad going live we arranged a viewing and I was blown away by the car in the flesh, and then the driving experience! I'm not sure what I was expecting but it is NOTHING like my Elise S1. The only car I could compare it to would be an old Formula Ford. It's very noisy, pops and bangs on the overrun (with some proper explosions!), the suspension is stupidly hard, brakes take a lot of effort but are very powerful and the steering is very heavy and incredibly responsive. It is basically a race car for the road and it will give you a proper work out if you are in the mood! It's not fast compared to an Atom or R500 Caterham but it has plenty of go for road fun.
As a car to take for a blast nothing I have ever driven comes close. It really is like a go-kart.
We bought the Zenos in May, took it straight for a service to Sevens and Classics at Brands as I knew them from Caterham days, plus they used to be an authorised Zenos dealer. Quite a few people have asked about support now Zenos are no longer but the main engineering guys are still up in Norfolk working for 24-7 motorsport just a stones throw from the old factory so they know the cars inside out. Also, most of the parts are Ford so it shouldn’t cause too many problems. Body parts might be more of an issue but the Facebook group have bought a good stock of them should we need anything in the future.
I have taken it to a race meeting at Brands Hatch (spectating only) where it displayed with ‘Propulsion’ and I have also enjoyed the odd drive out locally. The co-owner, Dan, took it to Goodwood FOS and had a great drive there and back, albeit putting the emergency roof up as it started to rain heavily!
I don't think it will see a lot of use for the rest of the year but we are taking it for a trackday in November on the Indy course at Brands. Fingers crossed for dry weather! The grip and braking is pretty awesome so it will be great to see how it handles a circuit.
Something I wasn't really prepared for was the amount of attention it gets. It is rare to stop for fuel and not get approached by at least one person with the inevitable 'what is it?!' question. We have prepared long and short answers depending on how much of a hurry we are in.
Hopefully it will get plenty of use between us as I myself can't even manage 1000 miles a year in my Elise.
I will try and keep this thread updated with Zenos news and activities.
A friend expressed an interest is going halves with me on a Caterham. The idea seemed a good one as we both have several other cars so use would be extremely limited. I don’t have space for another car but luckily my friend has a huge car barn following a move in to the Kent countryside last year.
Having had a Caterham before it would have had to have been a bit different to my last one, and then we happened upon a Zenos for sale, a car we both enjoyed reading about back in 2014/15. I actually happened upon a launch event in Autumn 2014 at Brands and was interested to hear how the car developed from then on.
It was a n/a with the 2.0 Duratec, registered late in 2020 as it had seemingly been sat around in a showroom for years. The price of the car with upgrades probably would have been circa £40k and we paid a lot less (like, half) than that for a car which had 1200 miles on the clock and had been registered just 18 months before.
This particular car is one of (possibly) only 4 with the 2.0 n/a engine in the UK as most are the Turbocharged S or even the R which uses the lump from the Focus RS MK3. We were after something for mostly road use and not having had a 'lightweight before, he didn't want any more than 200bhp initially. The car itself has had a lot spent on it with upgraded brakes, suspension, Sports exhaust, carbon interior, 6 speed box, cool air ducts and also came with a windscreen!
The Zenos configurator is still live I think and from that it suggests the E10 has around 200 bhp, is just under 700kg and gets to 60 in around 4.5 seconds. Top speed is apparently 140 ish.
Within hours of the ad going live we arranged a viewing and I was blown away by the car in the flesh, and then the driving experience! I'm not sure what I was expecting but it is NOTHING like my Elise S1. The only car I could compare it to would be an old Formula Ford. It's very noisy, pops and bangs on the overrun (with some proper explosions!), the suspension is stupidly hard, brakes take a lot of effort but are very powerful and the steering is very heavy and incredibly responsive. It is basically a race car for the road and it will give you a proper work out if you are in the mood! It's not fast compared to an Atom or R500 Caterham but it has plenty of go for road fun.
As a car to take for a blast nothing I have ever driven comes close. It really is like a go-kart.
We bought the Zenos in May, took it straight for a service to Sevens and Classics at Brands as I knew them from Caterham days, plus they used to be an authorised Zenos dealer. Quite a few people have asked about support now Zenos are no longer but the main engineering guys are still up in Norfolk working for 24-7 motorsport just a stones throw from the old factory so they know the cars inside out. Also, most of the parts are Ford so it shouldn’t cause too many problems. Body parts might be more of an issue but the Facebook group have bought a good stock of them should we need anything in the future.
I have taken it to a race meeting at Brands Hatch (spectating only) where it displayed with ‘Propulsion’ and I have also enjoyed the odd drive out locally. The co-owner, Dan, took it to Goodwood FOS and had a great drive there and back, albeit putting the emergency roof up as it started to rain heavily!
I don't think it will see a lot of use for the rest of the year but we are taking it for a trackday in November on the Indy course at Brands. Fingers crossed for dry weather! The grip and braking is pretty awesome so it will be great to see how it handles a circuit.
Something I wasn't really prepared for was the amount of attention it gets. It is rare to stop for fuel and not get approached by at least one person with the inevitable 'what is it?!' question. We have prepared long and short answers depending on how much of a hurry we are in.
Hopefully it will get plenty of use between us as I myself can't even manage 1000 miles a year in my Elise.
I will try and keep this thread updated with Zenos news and activities.
Edited by bencollins4 on Wednesday 14th September 19:31
AyBee said:
What do you do for servicing/parts given Zenos went pop? Obviously the engine is easy, but is everything else available?
Appreciate I may have got a bit carried away but here is a paragraph from above…….‘We bought the Zenos in May, took it straight for a service to Sevens and Classics at Brands as I knew them from Caterham days, plus they used to be an authorised Zenos dealer. Quite a few people have asked about support now Zenos are no longer but the main engineering guys are still up in Norfolk working for 24-7 motorsport just a stones throw from the old factory so they know the cars inside out. Also, most of the parts are Ford so it shouldn’t cause too many problems. Body parts might be more of an issue but the Facebook group have bought a good stock of them should we need anything in the future.’
Essentially seems parts and expertise are still readily available via 24-7 and the FB group can help for body panels, of which there are numerous as it has been designed to be cheap to crash apparently!
So glad you started this thread - already a belter!
Car looks amazing and an absolute bargain by the sound of it. I’m sure most would be put off by the rarity but you’ve clearly done your homework. Taken care of and kept out of the scenery, it should serve you brilliantly well for a long time.
Looking forward to seeing what happens and please keep the pictures coming too, especially of the details. Fingers crossed we can sort a meet up
Car looks amazing and an absolute bargain by the sound of it. I’m sure most would be put off by the rarity but you’ve clearly done your homework. Taken care of and kept out of the scenery, it should serve you brilliantly well for a long time.
Looking forward to seeing what happens and please keep the pictures coming too, especially of the details. Fingers crossed we can sort a meet up
A couple more of this summer's adventures. Lower Laysden Farm (Hub Classics). Spot the giant Yaris!
And next to my Elise Sport 135 at Headcorn.
Interior (excuse the brown paper that the previous owner used to protect the seat when climbing in and out).
And the engine.
And next to my Elise Sport 135 at Headcorn.
Interior (excuse the brown paper that the previous owner used to protect the seat when climbing in and out).
And the engine.
Edited by bencollins4 on Thursday 15th September 07:25
Spidersoon said:
Thanks for starting the thread, Ben. I think it’s now over the 2000 mile mark so nicely run in!
Heres a detail picture from Brands last weekend - I like this view of the front tyre!
Will have to get some decent pictures of the interior.
Dan
It does seem to be quite a regular at Brands! I'm sure it'll be pleased to finally be let loose on the track at its next visit.Heres a detail picture from Brands last weekend - I like this view of the front tyre!
Will have to get some decent pictures of the interior.
Dan
The open wheel picture reminds me of getting hit in the head by a stone from my own wheel soon after we had bought it! It's a great feature but the side skirts get absolutely full of stones if you drive through any gravel car parks etc.
Oh, and there is some very sharp bodywork that cut my hands to pieces the first time I washed it. We are now more careful.
MDifficult said:
So glad you started this thread - already a belter!
Car looks amazing and an absolute bargain by the sound of it. I’m sure most would be put off by the rarity but you’ve clearly done your homework. Taken care of and kept out of the scenery, it should serve you brilliantly well for a long time.
Looking forward to seeing what happens and please keep the pictures coming too, especially of the details. Fingers crossed we can sort a meet up
Thanks again for the encouragement! Erm…..we did a bit of a homework and quite a lot retrospectively but luckily it all checked out. Car looks amazing and an absolute bargain by the sound of it. I’m sure most would be put off by the rarity but you’ve clearly done your homework. Taken care of and kept out of the scenery, it should serve you brilliantly well for a long time.
Looking forward to seeing what happens and please keep the pictures coming too, especially of the details. Fingers crossed we can sort a meet up
I think as we move towards EV’s light, interactive cars like this just become more and more relevant for the petrolhead.
Yes, fingers crossed for a meet up at some point. Chasing an Atom down the A259 would be pretty awesome!
bencollins4 said:
AyBee said:
What do you do for servicing/parts given Zenos went pop? Obviously the engine is easy, but is everything else available?
Appreciate I may have got a bit carried away but here is a paragraph from above…….‘We bought the Zenos in May, took it straight for a service to Sevens and Classics at Brands as I knew them from Caterham days, plus they used to be an authorised Zenos dealer. Quite a few people have asked about support now Zenos are no longer but the main engineering guys are still up in Norfolk working for 24-7 motorsport just a stones throw from the old factory so they know the cars inside out. Also, most of the parts are Ford so it shouldn’t cause too many problems. Body parts might be more of an issue but the Facebook group have bought a good stock of them should we need anything in the future.’
Essentially seems parts and expertise are still readily available via 24-7 and the FB group can help for body panels, of which there are numerous as it has been designed to be cheap to crash apparently!
lrdisco said:
That looks amazing. Good on you for buying it.
How big is it inside? Is it for the smaller frame?
Compared to a Caterham, it’s pretty spacious with loads of legroom. Actually, it’s big compared to an Elise as well, although it should be as it is significantly wider. It’ll take a 6 1/2 footer, no problem ( he says at 5’ 7” on a good day)…..How big is it inside? Is it for the smaller frame?
Andy665 said:
Good purchase, such a shame that they did not succeed, half surprised that Caterham or Morgan did not pick it up - would have complimented both of their model ranges
I think for the engineering involved (which is seriously impressive) they just couldn’t make a decent profit at the price point. AC have taken the brand on and there are whispers of more cars being built but pretty sure nothing has happened so far. bencollins4 said:
Andy665 said:
Good purchase, such a shame that they did not succeed, half surprised that Caterham or Morgan did not pick it up - would have complimented both of their model ranges
I think for the engineering involved (which is seriously impressive) they just couldn’t make a decent profit at the price point. AC have taken the brand on and there are whispers of more cars being built but pretty sure nothing has happened so far. When I went over and asked for a bit of detail, they gave me a leaflet
I was actually in the market for a 'fun' road car and ended up in a GT86, maybe if someone had tried a bit harder at the show I'd have bought a Zenos.
I have no idea who the people were but they had branded polo shirts, so I assume they worked for Zenos.
I wonder if they failed because no matter how good your engineering is, if the public doesn't know anything about your product they won't buy it.
Mark Benson said:
I wonder if they failed because no matter how good your engineering is, if the public doesn't know anything about your product they won't buy it.
They did do SOME good PR exercises.I was at a normal track day at Snetterton ages ago, and they turned up with one of the cars and were giving passenger laps to anyone who fancied it.
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