Meet the $188k British Sports Car That Weighs Less Than a Miata
The Zenos E10 RZ is all about light weight, raw performance, and driver focus.By Natalie NeffPublished: Sep 24, 2025 3:31 PM EDT
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A little known company called Zenos is aiming straight for the heart of Britain’s lightweight sports car tradition.
Originally established in 2012 in the UK by a group of former Lotus and Caterham employees, Zenos produced a lightweight, high-performance sports car called the E10, but within five years the company fell into bankruptcy.
Now the company is returned to continue its mission of building driver-focused vehicles with minimalist, open-top designs.
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The little automaker recently previewed its new E10 RZ, a 380-horsepower evolution of the original that was favorably received a decade ago. Production begins in early 2026, Zenos says, with a limited run of fewer than 50 cars in the first year, each stickering around $188,250 (£140,000).
Thanks to a 2.0-liter turbo-four and a curb weight of just 1,742 pounds (790 kilograms), the RZ boasts an impressive 4.58 pounds per hp. Zenos claims it will do 0-62 mph in just 3.2 seconds and reach a top speed of around 150 mph.
Zenos insists, however, its little sports car isn’t about top-end speed, but about responsiveness, agility, and that elusive “seat of the pants” feel that defined cars like the Lotus Elise.Zenos
The car combines an extruded-aluminum spine chassis paired with a carbon-fiber tub and full carbon bodywork. The fully independent front suspension uses inboard-mounted dampers while there’s conventional coil-overs in back, the rear dampers mounted directly to the steel subframe.
Most of the car’s weight sits between the axles, a limited-slip differential ensuring power gets down cleanly when cornering.
Inside, the E10 RZ keeps things minimal—carbon-fiber bucket seats, custom switchgear, and modern instrumentation. Buyers will be able to specify bodywork with painted or an exposed-weave finish that puts on display the car’s handmade nature.Zenos
A slightly less extreme E10 R2 will arrive later in 2026, says Zenos, priced at about $161,400 (£120,000) and powered by a 2.3-liter turbo with 325 horsepower. The R2 offers a more approachable way into the brand’s lineup while keeping the same carbon and aluminum chassis.
No word on whether we’ll see them on US shores, but with these small numbers, we’re not holding our breath.
But for a couple of sketchy, short-lived gigs right out of college, Natalie Neff has had the good fortune to spend the entirety of her professional life around cars. A 2017 Honda Ridgeline, 1972 VW Beetle, 1999 Ducati Monster and a well-loved purple-and-white five-speed Schwinn currently call her garage home.
2026 Toyota Corolla Cross Is Perfectly Inoffensive and Built to Stay That Way
Bland but good for you—and everyone—Corolla Cross gas and hybrid vehicles remains the oatmeal of vehicle choices.By Mark VaughnPublished: Sep 24, 2025 10:40 AM EDTSave Article
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- Corolla Cross gets a very mid-cycle facelift for 2026, though it’s hard to tell.
- It comes in two powertrains: a 2.0-liter gasoline engine driving the front or all four wheels, or a 2.0-liter engine mated to three permanent magnet synchronous motors that kick in as necessary for grip—or flexing in the Trader Joe’s parking lot.
- Prices start at $26,085 for the gas Cross and $30,445 for the hybrid.
When you have a small family, lots of errands, and not a lot of money, you should check out the $26,085 Toyota Corolla Cross. In fact, 93,021 Americans did last year and wound up buying them. The goal is to bump that to 110,000 after the mid-cycle facelift you see here.
What’s in the 2026 mid-cycle facelift? Not much, actually, but Corolla Cross didn’t need much. You get a few new colors, newish grilles and taillights, an available 10.5-inch Toyota Audio Multimedia Touchscreen infotainment screen, and, uh, that’s kind of it. Wait, found something else: There are new 18-Inch alloy wheels with dark gray finish on XLE and black finish on XSE!
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And since it’s made in Huntsville. Alabama, it’s unlikely to be be subject to any of those tariffs you’ve been reading about.
You’re not looking for flashy performance excitement here. You’re looking for those 44 cubic-feet of cargo volume when the rear 60/40 seats are folded flat and the 88.4 cubic-feet of passenger volume when they’re up, both in between that 103.9-inch wheelbase.
It’s a safe, practical family vehicle at a reasonable price.
The ’26 Corolla Cross comes in two basic flavors: gas engine-only, and hybrid-electric. Those are unchanged.
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Corolla Cross is the vehicle of choice for young families. Or empty nesters on a budget. Or anyone.
The Corolla Cross with gas engine gets a 2.0-liter four making 169 hp at 6,600 rpm and 151 lb-ft between 4,400 and 4,800. With a curb weight as light as 3,125 pounds in FWD L trim routed through a CVT transmission, that’s good for a 0-60 mph time of about a day and a half. Car and Driver got 9.2 seconds to 60, but when I tried a launch or two on the drive program, I fell asleep at the wheel. Okay, just kidding, I got a 10.81 using a handheld iPhone XR and I had plenty of time to make sure I hit the button at exactly 60 mph.
The good news is you also get up to a manufacturer-estimated 32 mpg combined. That’s not bad, but if you want more, consider the hybrid.
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The Corolla Cross Hybrid is the excitement in the CC trim line. Not only does it put out a ground-pounding 196 hp routed through Toyota’s fancy and more sophisticated eCVT trans, but Car and Driver got it to 60 mph in a wheelstanding 7.3 seconds when they tested last year’s identical powertrain. It would go even quicker—maybe—except that all hybrid Corolla Crosses come standard with all-wheel drive.
The hybrid powertrain consists of that same 2.0-liter four abetted by three electric motors, one in front and two in back. In addition to relative quickness off the line, and more power all around, the hybrid also returns a manufacturer-estimated 42 mpg combined.
Of course, you have to pay for it. While the cheapest gas-powered Corolla Cross starts at $26,085, the entry-level hybrid model starts at $30,445. That’s $4,360 more. So depending on the price of gas and how much you drive, it might take a while to recoup your investment.
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Optional big entertainer screen shown.
There is some excitement in this lineup away from the drag strip. You can take this crossover off-road, if just a little. Toyota set up a dirt drive up that big hill you see towering over Sonoma Raceway, the one that sometimes has cows munching on the switchgrass and watching the NASCAR race when you go there.
I drove a magnetic blue Cross up the hill and admired the view. You can see everything from up there, the Golden Gate, San Fran, Oakland, Vallejo, and yes, the track itself. While you wouldn’t want to take the M+S tires too far off the highway, you can have some nice adventures on moderate dirt troads, thus expanding your weekend fun quotient.
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The gas-powered AWD model features what Toyota calls its “clever” Dynamic Torque Control system that directs up to 50% of power to the rear wheels when it’s needed—and disengages completely when it’s not. The hybrid engages rear electric motors as needed for traction.
On regular streets of the type where this vehicle will spend 99.99% of its life, the Cross was quiet and commodious, as advertised. If you’re not looking for stoplight launches or any kind of sex appeal whatsoever, this is the perfect car for a huge swath of the car-buying public. Maybe even 110,000 of them.
Mark Vaughn grew up in a Ford family and spent many hours holding a trouble light over a straight-six miraculously fed by a single-barrel carburetor while his father cursed the Blue Oval, all its products and everyone who ever worked there. This was his introduction to objective automotive criticism. He started writing for City News Service in Los Angeles, then moved to Europe and became editor of a car magazine called, creatively, Auto. He decided Auto should cover Formula 1, sports prototypes and touring cars—no one stopped him! From there he interviewed with Autoweek at the 1989 Frankfurt motor show and has been with us ever since.
