Could the 1,850bhp Zenvo Aurora get a proper manual gearbox? Possibly, says boss

Quick update from Zenvo, the Danish hypercar firm that really wants to be Koenigsegg when it grows up. It has announced another technical partner for the Aurora hypercar. This time it’s Ricardo, the British transmission experts, who are going to equip the 1,850bhp machine with a gearbox that can, well, cope would be a good start.

Unlike its rival across the Oresund Bridge, Zenvo isn’t throwing multiple clutches at the problem – it believes one is enough. So it’s an automated manual, seven speeds and hybridised as there’s an electric motor buried in there as well to do torque fill and reversing duties.

But that’s not all, said Chairman Jens Sverdrup. “A manual gearbox? Yes, that could be on the horizon. We have room within the casing, we’re just not sure how it will work in the dimensions yet.” That’s right three pedal fans - 1,850bhp and the opportunity to cock up shifts yourself with terrifyingly expensive consequences!

Whether that happens or not, the gearbox is mated to the 6.6-litre quad turbo V12 ‘Mjølner’ power unit. Yep, quad turbos like Bugatti had on the EB110. There’s a reason: Sverdrup loved the EB110.

“That was the car for me," he said. "Because of the engine it was a fascinating car. A little bit heavy maybe but I really, really liked that philosophy.”

The engine - “the biggest single expense in the budget” - somewhat remarkably for a modern hypercar isn’t the work of Cosworth. “We looked at a few engine partners, but because of the openness on the side, all the negative space, we send the air through the car," Sverdup said. "So we couldn't go with a wide engine, instead this is a 90 degree engine from Mahle who had some experience doing 90 degrees with the Le Mans Audi cars.”

To ensure a slim silhouette, the turbos are inside that narrow vee, which could cause the biggest cooling issues since someone at Chernobyl got confused about whether the rods should be in or out.

As Sverdup mentions, the Aurora channels air inside the bodywork that's much more elegantly surfaced than Zenvos of old. It’s actually a nice piece of design, which should ensure much stronger sales than the TSR cars ever enjoyed – only around 10 customer cars were ever built.

The plan is for 100 Auroras, split between two versions, the GT-oriented Tur and track-smashing Agil. “Think Turbo S and GT3 RS, if you want to talk Porsche”, said Sverdrup. Both get the full dollop of power, but the bewinged Agil will be lighter. Chiefly because it’ll be rear-drive, while the Tur will add front driveshafts powered by a pair of electric motors and a bigger battery.

Zenvo has already confirmed that the Aurora hypercar will get its dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this July. But, like any self-respecting Viking raider, it has ambitions beyond that. The V12 is modular, the plan being to spin off V8s and V6s, possibly for other Zenvo models, but also to sell to other brands.

What could future Zenvos look like after the £2.2 million Aurora? “I can tell you I have a dream of doing a hyper off-roader, to really go charging around,” said Sverdrup. Forget the Lamborghini Sterrato, here’s something that might actually be able to keep a 2,000bhp Nissan Patrol in check.

There’s much to do before that. The plan is for the Aurora to be built at an all new facility closer to Copenhagen and to have full global certification like the Pagani Utopia. This is not an easy – or cheap – thing to achieve. “We can’t take any shortcuts," said Sverdup.

"As a brand we need credibility, we need to do it properly. I always say it takes 20 years to break through. Or you could be throwing Volkswagen money at it and make it faster. We have to go the organic way.”