Zenvo is working on a roadster version of its 1,850bhp Aurora hypercar

Zenvo boss Jens Sverdrup has already informed TG of the Danish firm’s plans to build a ‘junior hypercar’ with a V10 version of its new, modular engine, and now we’ve learned an Aurora roadster is also in the works.

The Aurora will be offered in two different variants, with the ‘Agil’ being the track-focused downforce king and the ‘Tur’ the slightly softer one for grand touring. Whole lot of emphasis on ‘slightly’ there, we’d imagine. After that, there'll be another one.

“It’s 50 of each that we’re planning to build,” Sverdrup told TG. “But then we’re looking into roadster versions that will be assigned to people who bought the coupe versions, so they will have the first right of refusal with those.”

Blimey, can you imagine how brutal the wind in your hair will be when it meets 1,850bhp? Oh, that's right, it's mad. The Aurora uses a 6.6-litre quad-turbo V12 and an electric motor for a total output of 1,850bhp. Should be nippy.

Development of this car continues at pace, and Zenvo reckons it’ll reach production towards the end of 2026. And while its top speed has been quoted as 280mph, it’ll actually be delivered with a 261mph (420kph) limit.

“It’s not the point of the car to go beyond that,” said Sverdrup. “I’m not counting numbers, I just want a really good car. I don’t care about Nürburgring lap times, I don’t care about top speeds. I care about really good engineering and just pushing the limits as far as they can go.

“This top speed is worth nothing if the car doesn’t behave in first gear at 10kph, or if it’s not fun to drive slowly. For me, the magic lies in if I can have my cake and eat it too. This is the ultimate sweet spot car. Performance and numbers are just a side effect of good engineering. It’ll be a heck of a lot more refined than a Valkyrie.

“I’ve been part of other projects where it has been all about records. At Koenigsegg we were all about records. The Czinger project was all about lap times. I always felt it compromised the car for the driver who will use it 90 per cent of the time.”

Six more prototypes of the Aurora will be built, adding to the first that made its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed recently.

“We’re just getting started,” said Sverdrup. “However, the engines have been tested on a bench for four months already, and we’ve been driving the car for over a year in the simulator. We’ve passed the first passive safety tests and emissions will probably be the big one. We’re doing the full worldwide homologation. With this car we belong in the top echelons of the hypercar brands. In two or three years that’s where we will be.”

So what if you’ve got a few million quid spare and fancy getting yourself on the list for the Aurora? Well, there are still a few of the planned 100 available. In fact, Sverdrup tells TG that around 60 cars have been sold.

“We have another 200-300 people on the list who wanted to see if we could pull it off before committing,” he told TG. “But now that it’s running up the hill, I’ve already had text messages from people saying ‘okay, let’s go’.”