My first thoughts when someone mentions Denmark and the Danish tend to be food related. A bit naughty, perhaps, given that my surname is Danish.
But certainly my thoughts don't turn to cars. Not that they don't make cars — one of the scariest cars in the world has Danish origins. And one of their fresh players, Agile Automotive, have confirmed some of their own.
Named the SC122 and the SCX, both cars adopt the familiar formula of small dimensions and low weight; squarely pointing their targets at lightweight magicians Lotus in the process.
The SC122 is the more humble of the two machines. It will be available in two variants — a toned down road-car (pictured above, decorated in that most quintessential of sports car colours; beige) or a track-only weekend weapon (below).
“It represents our company and what we are trying to create and we want people to recognise an Agile at a single glance,” say the company.
“The SC122 combines simple and elegant Scandinavian design with the raw and functional design of racing. This gives the SC122 a unique shape without compromising speed and functionality on the track.”
The SC122's crowning stat is its weight. Thanks to plans for constant use of carbon fibre through the chassis, body, and elsewhere, it is scheduled to weigh just 850kg.
The SCX on the other hand appears to care very little for those pursuing the mild. Like the SC122 it's available as a road car or a track car, but as you can see below it's a different kind of beast.
Forget the handsome bodywork of the SC122; the SCX comes with almost no real bodywork at all. Just a sort of carbon fibre exoskeleton, topped and tailed by a pair of extraordinarily huge wings.
The focus on weight loss isn't just a body thing. The engines, too, get smaller with the SCX. Both thhe race and road variants will rely on a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine sourced from Toyota, but one will be supercharged to deliver almost 200kW. More than enough for a car that is only meant to weigh 600kg.
And also, unlike the SC122, the SCX is more than just a render on a screen. It's a living, breathing car, already being tested by the manufacturer.
This all sounds promising (and the SC122 is quite a dishy looking thing, I think), but it's hard to ignore the financial challenges that small shoe-string manufacturers like Agile Automotive face — and often get swallowed up by.
It'll be powered by a supercharged 316kW 3.5-litre V6 engine, mated to the choice of either a five speed (huh) manual or a seven-speed sequential with paddles. A naturally aspirated V6 will also be on the cards for anyone who thinks that's all a bit too much.
