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.

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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.

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