BAC Mono launched

The BAC Mono is a barely-disguised race car for the public road. It even has just the one seat, as if to make the point that passengers just add unnecessary weight and upset the balance.

BAC Mono (2011) Front

With a svelte carbon fibre body and 280 bhp (208 kW / 283PS) from its 2.3 litre Cosworth engine, the Mono boasts a power to weight ratio of 520 bhp per ton. The car’s manufacturer - Briggs Automotive Company, or BAC for short - claims that that betters the Bugatti Veyron, allowing it to accelerate from zero to 60 mph (96 km/h) in only 2.8 seconds. The dash to 100 mph (160 km/h) is completed in the similarly impressive time of 6.7 seconds, and top speed is reckoned to be 170 mph (273 km/h).

Drive to the rear wheels is via a six-speed Hewland sequential gearbox, while the chassis features pushrod suspension and brakes from AP Racing. The Kumho tyres have been specially developed, but they remain street legal.

As further befits its track aspirations, the Mono comes with a FIA compliant tubular steel safety cell that incorporates rollover protection. The driver, secured by a six-point Willans race harness, sits in a fixed seat which optionally can be profiled for an exact fit. To accommodate different-sized occupants, both the pedal box and steering column are moveable.

BAC Mono (2011) Front SideBAC Mono (2011) Rear
BAC Mono (2011) SideBAC Mono (2011) Rear Side

Obviously, it’s not a particularly practical thing. Anti-theft security seems to consist of a removable steering wheel, while a helmet locker is about it for luggage space.

BAC is saying it has the capacity to build between fifty and one hundred examples of the Mono each year. At least an advantage of using a single seat configuration is that separate left- and right-hand drive versions won’t have to be developed.

The UK price for the BAC Mono has been set at £79,950 including taxes. That’s around €91,700 or US$130,400 at today’s exchange rates.

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