Zenvo Says Smaller Hypercar Coming, But No EVs

Zenvo is planning more hypercars based on its monocoque chassis and using its modular “hot-V” engine.

Zenvo Aurora

Jeff Perez

By: Jeff Perez

Aug 19, 2023 at 8:26pm ET

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The new Zenvo Aurora is an absolute monster. Its quad-turbocharged 6.6-liter V12 engine with electric assist gives it up to 1,850 horsepower and a top speed of 280 miles per hour. Not only that, but the new carbon fiber monocoque chassis helps make the Aurora the lightest car the Danish automaker has ever built with a claimed dry weight of 3,197 pounds.

But the Aurora is only step one in what Zenvo hopes will be a lineage of hypercars based on its new carbon monocoque setup. Speaking with Head of Zenvo Design Christian Brandt – who has been with the company since the beginning – he confirms the company is already in development of a smaller, more affordable hypercar (relatively speaking) that uses many of the same components that make up the Aurora.

"We can use this monocoque for other projects," says Brandt, "the next product down the line is what we call a junior hypercar, so it will be smaller, more compact, lower price point. [The Aurora] is $3 million, that one is probably going to be $1.8 or $2.0 million."

Zenvo Aurora

It’s not simply the monocoque chassis that the company will translate to smaller vehicles either, but the modularity of the new 90-degree "hot-V" engine makes it a prime candidate for use in other Zenvo vehicles.

"The engine is also designed with modularity in mind, so we can actually chop cylinders off – we can do a V8, we can do a V6," says Brandt. "There are four turbos, they are basically feeding three cylinders each, so if you cut it down and just have two turbos and six cylinders."

One thing that we’re unlikely to see from Zenvo, though, is an electric hypercar. Even though the Aurora does have an EV drive mode with around 22 miles (35 kilometers) of range, Brandt is adamant that Zenvo customers aren’t interested in a pure electric hypercar a la competitors like the Rimac Nevera and the Pininfarina Battista.

Zenvo Aurora

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"We know our clients – we have talked to our clients in the process, which is also why we have the V12. Nobody wanted the V6 or the V8 and for sure not electric. They don’t want electric."

Well-heeled buyers interested in a new Zenvo Aurora will have to wait at least until 2026 when the hypercar goes into production. The company will build 50 examples of the road-focused Tur trim and 50 examples of the track-capable Agil model, with a starting price of around $2.8 million in the US (€2.6 million).