Are you agile enough to test drive the Lotus Evora 400?


Potential buyers of the Lotus Evora 400 will need to pass an online Agility Test first.

Lotus Evora 400

2016 Lotus Evora 400 Image: Lotus

The UK-based luxury sports car manufacturer has taken the unorthodox step of asking prospective buyers to take an online test based on reaction-time tests used in fighter-pilot training programs. The company boldly states that their supercar "requires a superior level of hand-eye co-ordination, reaction times and driver skills to handle a car that is capable of supreme agility."

The object of the test is to move a yellow square around the board while avoiding several moving squares for as long as possible, aiming to keep going for more than seven seconds.  Whenever you fail, and this writer certainly did, you are taunted by some very dry, witty comments before being offered yet another chance to retake the test.

Passing the test could mean an early test drive of the supercharged 3.5 litre V6 engined car.  The lucky winners can expect the 2016 model (there is no 2015 model) to produce 400 horsepower and 302 pound-feet of torque, enough for a 0-60 mph (0-100kmh) acceleration in 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 186 mph (300 kph).

Given those figures, it possibly is a good idea to make prospective test drivers take the agility test first.