The premise behind the new British sports car maker Zenos is good: ex-Caterham and –Lotus peope working to create an affordable, fast and fun trackday and road car. Their very first model, the E10, is still not finished yet, but Autocar has managed to secure itself a spot behind wheel of a prototype and see if it’s all adding up.

And, it is. Steve Sutcliffe really likes the way it drives which coupled to its low-low starting price makes it somewhat of a bargain in the sector. He even says it feels like a more evolved Lotus Elise, and that’s high praise.

Engines are Ford-sourced units, and the white car in the video below comes with the non-turbo 2.0-liter unit that makes 190-ish hp. There’s also an EcoBoost one on offer too, with closer to 250 hp.

These first pre-production prototypes seem to be showing promise and as per this test, they seem to be apt both on tracks and out on the public road. Apparently, special care was given to making sure the E10 is comfortable when you just want to cruise around.

Videos