40 YEARS OF ZYTEK

When Zytek was founded in 1981, the company’s initial focus was to provide engine management systems to motorsport.

By 1987, Zytek had expanded into racing engine design and build, powering teams to championships in International Formula 3000 and the Le Mans Series. 

Zytek became widely recognised as the number one engine supplier for one make championships such as the Formula 3000, A1GP, Renault FR3.5 Series and Auto GP championships.

In 2009, Zytek produced its own Le Mans Prototype, which ran with a Zytek Q10 Hybrid system finishing on the podium on its debut at Lime Rock Park, Connecticut in the fifth round of the American Le Mans Series.

Zytek’s motorsport success led to a successful road car business, initially using its engine management knowledge to power a new generation of ultra high-power supercars such as the Jaguar XJ220. Soon Zytek was working with some of the leading names in performance motoring, including Aston Martin, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, and the high performance V10 Dodge Viper.

In the mid-1990s, Zytek began the development of what was to become the highest power-density electric vehicle drivetrain available at the time. By 1999, Zytek was awarded a turnkey hybrid development programme by General Motors, firmly establishing the company as one of the world’s leading integrators of electric and hybrid-electric drive systems.

The first season of Formula E in 2014 saw Zytek engaged as the motor and inverter supplier for one of the leading teams, designing, manufacturing, testing and delivering race systems in just over six months. This led to many successful seasons working with the Formula E World Champions. 

Zytek now enjoys the position of being one of the world’s leading motorsports EV engineering companies.