Rather than head off into the mainstream car industry during their ‘professional enhancement year’, a group of students from the Coventry

University Automotive Design course have set up their own car company to produce an ethanol-powered sports car with Elise-type performance.

The company and car are called Concept Climax, and the hope is that, if there’s sufficient investment, the lightweight roadster could be sold for around £35,000.

Intended as a weekend plaything – hence no doors or roof, and aeroscreens rather than a windscreen – the Climax is powered by a Subaru-sourced flat-four tuned to run on ethanol, meaning that the claimed 270bhp and 256lb ft of torque are backed up by the lower emissions generated by the alcohol-based fuel.

A spaceframe chassis and composite bodywork (aluminium panels are also under consideration) keep the weight down to a feathery 546kg. Claimed performance is a top speed of 160mph and 0-60mph in 3.4sec.