British sports car maker Zenos has returned eight years after the company entered administration with a new version of its E10 – which will top out at £140,000.

The Norfolk-based firm collapsed in 2017, having sold just over 100 examples of the two-seat roadster, which was priced lower than rivals – £24,995 – to make it more accessible.

Its assets were acquired by Cobra maker AC Cars, which initially offered for sale a handful of unfinished E10s before shelving the project. 

Over the past 10 months, it has worked to revive the Zenos brand, and it has today announced that the first new E10 will arrive in the second quarter of 2026.

The car is mostly the same as its forbear but uses a new engine to put out 380bhp.

There is one working prototype – and Autocar has been given an exclusive drive. You can read more in the digital magazine, on Apple News or by picking up a magazine.

Details are still limited, but RZ-badged version with which Zenos is expected to be relaunched will cost £140,000.

Less powerful and more affordable variants are under consideration.

Like its predecessor, the E10 is a two-seat roadster built around an aluminium-extruded chassis and a composite tub made from recycled carbonfibre.

It retains double wishbones at all four corners with pushrod front suspension but gains new carbonfibre bodywork, manufactured by AC in West Sussex. 

Compared with the current prototype, the production car will get a subtle restyling, mainly centred around the lights.

The most significant update comes under the bonnet. With Ford’s Ecoboost engines now discontinued, AC has opted for Volvo’s 2.0-litre turbo petrol four – a unit that revs to 7200rpm.

In prototype form, with a bespoke ECU, it produces 380bhp and 376lb ft of torque, driving the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.

Engineers are in the process of reworking the E10's body structure, with the rear subframe expected to switch from aluminium to steel to cope with the increased torque output.

Thanks to the use of carbonfibre panels, the new E10 has a target kerb weight of just 790kg.

Inside, it will undergo a full redesign, gaining new seats, switchgear and a central display unit.