ZENN : The Tiny EV You May Not Know About

The ZENN electric vehicle is a short-lived piece of EV history. Its tiny stature and quirkiness will immediately tug your heartstrings. 

On a recent trip to Southern California, I paid a visit to my friend, who always has a weird stopping point along the electric vehicle timeline. Whether it be some information about an extremely limited-run electric vehicle or an example of one in the flesh, my buddy Alex has something cool to talk to you about. This time it was this fantastic little nugget of an electric vehicle. Though my primary purpose for visiting was to check out his high-mileage Tesla Model S, the ZENN caught my eye immediately.

ZENN is an acronym. It stands for Zero Emission, No Noise. This cute little bugger’s production run came to an end in 2011. Furthermore, its lifespan was relatively short as it initially began production in 2006. Though it didn’t make any sort of a monumental impact like modern electric vehicles do, it’s still a nifty little thing. I’m super glad I got a chance to drive it and take a few photos. I’ll start with what I’m sure many are wondering. What’s the story with the ZENN?

What Is A ZENN Electric?

The ZENN is based on a tiny French vehicle called the Microcar MC2. The ZENN Motor Company, based in Canada, took the puny little cars and gave them the full EV treatment. Interestingly enough, these vehicles were not legal in Canada when their production began. So, the ZENN is a French-based EV built in Canada that was initially exclusively sold in the US. Quite a wild story!

Originally, the ZENN’s intent was to qualify as a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle. As such, it is incapable of more than 25 miles per hour. Despite using old-school lead-acid battery technology, the theoretical range of the ZENN was originally stated to be 40 miles. That’s pretty dang good!

However, this particular ZENN went under the knife a tad.

This Zenn is no longer sporting its original motor. Though it’s not the most powerful thing on the planet, it’s motor upgrade is plenty to propel this tiny thing to victory. It will happily cook up the front tires if you stomp on the accelerator, and it has more than enough power to get out of its own way.

Additionally, Alex plans to upgrade the old-school system with some modern tech. He plans to replace the bundle of lead-acid batteries currently equipped with a grip of Nissan Leaf lithium batteries. This procedure is easily my favorite thing to come from the world of modifying and upgrading older EVs purely because of the terminology used to describe it-the lithium swap. Lithium swap the world!

A Tiny Tribute to EVs of the Past

Sure, you could easily argue that lithium batteries and a more powerful motor don’t make this thing a feasible daily driver. You’d even be correct! It’s cramped, makes a ton of questionable noises when driving, and the brakes are so tiny that I really think the regenerative braking is the only thing actually stopping the car. However, the modernization of old-tech EVs is proof enough that the spirit of modifying and upgrading vehicles is alive and well in the EV world. Sure, you can buy a Tesla or a Polestar Two and use it with no issues. However, there will always be the outcasts who want to drive something a little different that they get to pour their time and effort into.

That, I think, is what makes cars more than just utilitarian machines. Without a bit of personalization and unique stuff going on, the world of EVs would be pretty dull, don’t you think?

Photos for Electric Vehicle Forums by Braden Carlson