The Keating ZKR: A Radical British Hypercar Born from Pure Ambition

Raw Conviction - The supercar world has always been fueled by ambition, excess, and the constant urge to go faster than what came before. While global attention often gravitates toward established manufacturers, moments of genuine disruption tend to come from smaller players willing to take bigger risks. That atmosphere defined the early 2010s, when a British manufacturer stepped forward with an uncompromising machine known as the Keating ZKR—a car designed not to blend in, but to challenge the limits of what a road-going supercar could represent. 

The Keating ZKR—a car designed not to blend in, but to challenge the limits of what a road-going supercar could represent. (Picture from: Supercars.net)

Unveiled to the public at the Top Marques Monaco show in 2011, the Keating ZKR was developed by Keating Supercars, a Manchester-based company led by British designer Anthony Keating. At the time, the brand had already gained modest attention through its earlier SKR and TKR models, both of which showcased a fascination with extreme performance. With the ZKR, that fascination became a clear mission statement. Keating openly set its sights on the world’s leading supercars, aiming to rival—and potentially surpass—the performance benchmarks set by manufacturers in Italy, Germany, and the UK itself. 

The Keating ZKR was developed by Keating Supercars, and unveiled to the public at the Top Marques Monaco show in 2011. (Picture from: GTSpirit)

The ZKR’s design emphasized function over theatrics. Its low, wide proportions communicated speed and aggression, even though the prototype displayed in Monaco was visibly unfinished. Rather than hiding this, Keating allowed the engineering to speak for itself. At the core of the car sat a monocoque chassis that had undergone years of refinement, engineered to minimize the center of gravity. One of its most distinctive solutions was the use of dual low-lying fuel tanks integrated directly into the chassis, a layout chosen to enhance structural rigidity, balance, and overall performance rather than visual appeal. 

The Keating ZKR reveals a striking blue leather interior with a minimalist driver-focused cockpit, exposed structure, and dramatic upward-opening door design. (Picture from: Supercars.net)

Beneath the bodywork, the ZKR’s mechanical ambition bordered on the extreme. Power was supplied by a 427 cubic-inch V8 engine using a rare combination of twin turbocharging and supercharging. Depending on configuration, Keating claimed outputs ranging from 600 horsepower to as much as 2,200 horsepower at maximum boost. Engine development involved collaboration with Nelson Racing Engines in California, a specialist known for high-performance racing and street applications. While such figures were never independently verified, they contributed to the ZKR’s reputation as a car conceived at the outer edge of possibility rather than within conventional limits. 

The Keating ZKR uses a refined monocoque chassis with dual low-mounted fuel tanks to lower its center of gravity and improve rigidity and balance. (Picture from: Supercars.net)

Equally important was how the ZKR was intended to be built and owned. Keating emphasized that every example would be hand-built in England to customer-specific orders, allowing bespoke exterior coachwork and interior trim choices. This approach reflected a belief that extreme performance did not have to come at the expense of individuality or ownership practicality. Long service intervals and a focus on usability were part of the original design brief, setting the ZKR apart from hypercars that existed purely as technical showcases. | HN2HuXywHmk |

Viewed today, the Keating ZKR stands as a defining chapter in the company’s story—a raw, experimental statement shaped by ambition more than restraint. Its ideas, engineering priorities, and willingness to challenge convention would not disappear after 2011. Instead, they quietly laid the foundation for Keating’s next evolution, culminating years later in the arrival of the Keating Berus in 2017, a model that carried forward the ZKR’s spirit while presenting it in a more refined and contemporary form. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | MOTORAUTHORITY | GTSPIRIT | SUPERCARS.NET | PISTONHEADS ]

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