Agile Automotive Has Built A 600kg, 246bhp Track Weapon - And More

If you’d like a Lotus but for some reason with it was Danish, you’re in luck. Agile Automotive is a new concern aiming to beat the Norfolk-based handling specialists at their own game.

The company is launching with two cars, the first of which is an all-out Elise rival and track weapon known as the SCX (Sports Car Extreme), with no windows, windscreen or body panels. It’s set to weigh just 600kg with a normally-aspirated, 177bhp 2.0-litre Toyota engine on board, although buyers can opt to upgrade it with a supercharger for a meaty 246bhp. That’s 410bhp per tonne, which is tasty.

If keeping bugs from smashing into your face is more your thing, there’s a more civilised roadster called the SC122; if you can call a carbon-clad, supercharged V6 Exige rival civilised. Weighing 850kg, it’s again yours in n/a or supercharged form. The V6 is a Toyota unit, much the same as the one used by Lotus.

It peaks at 419bhp in the SC122, and while both cars are mid-engined, the SCX is likely to be better suited to smaller race tracks and weekend B-road blasts, while the SC122 is the tool for larger circuits and longer distances. The SC will come with either five manually-selectable gears or a seven-speed twin-clutch auto. The latter will deliver faster lap times, but less fun.

Depending on the buyer, either car can be specified and set up for track use only, or for the road as well. The track versions aren’t road-legal. Both models are said to be constructed ‘mostly’ from carbonfibre, which would explain the low weight – and high prices. No UK costs have been confirmed yet, but we’d be surprised if an entry-level SCX will be much cheaper than £57,000, and we understand that figure is likely to exclude 20 per cent VAT. It’ll be a tough task to tempt Lotus buyers away with figures like that.