No, Battersea Arts Centre hasn’t suddenly gone in to the car business, and nor has BAC Windows. This BAC is Briggs Automotive Company and they’ve built the BAC Mono, said to be the first single-seater production sports car – In the world. But this isn’t your usual bolted-together-in-a-shed, next wonder of the car world we see every five minutes. This is the real deal; a superbly engineered and beautifully built single-seat racer that just happens to be road-legal. It may be road-legal, but that doesn’t stop the Mono having the sort of performance that will embarass almost anything else on the road – at any price. Weighing in at just 540kg, the Mono boasts a 2.3 litre 4-pot lump by Cosworth and delivers 280bhp. That’s a power to weight ratio of 520bhp per ton, so it should come as no surprise the Mono hits 60mph in just 2.8 seconds on its way to 170mph. Mono is built using carbon fibre composite around a steel safety cell and comes with an FIA-compliant steel rollover structure. The 2.3 litre Cossie lump sits longitudinally and gets mated to a F3-spec 6-speed sequential ‘box by Hewland, Suspension is fully adjustable pushrod with damping by SACHS Racing, brakes are 295mm ventilated discs from AP and Kumho has developed a special compound for the Mono’s tyres. All of which spells out something a lot more than yet another wannabe racer for the road. The fact that SuperVettura – purveyors of only the very high-end car stuff – have been appointed UK dealers also makes it clear this is a serious bit of kit. BAC are building just 35 Monos this year for the world, and 10 of those are sold pre-launch. Dimensions and Weight Overall width 1800mm Overall length 3952mm Height 1110mm Wheelbase 2565mm Ground clearance 100 mm (f) 110 mm (r) Kerb weight 540kg Power to weight 520 bhp per tonne Weight distribution f/r 48% / 52% Engine Type 4 cylinder, in-line Installation Mid longitudinal rwd Total displacement 2300cc Maximum Power 280 bhp at 7700rpm Maximum Torque 280 Nm at 6000rpm Tyres and Wheels Tyres (f) Kumho V70a 205/40 R17 Tyres (r) Kumho V70a 245/40 R17 Wheels (f) O.Z. Racing HRT alloy 7.5j x 17in Wheels (r) O.Z. Racing HRT alloy 8.5j x 17in Performances Maximum speed 170 mph 0-60 mph 2.8 secs Vehicle Construction Vehicle construction Carbon composite, FIA compliant safety structure Suspension Suspension (f & r) Twin wishbone, push rod adjustable anti-roll bar Dampers Sachs Racing Brakes Brakes AP Racing, 295 mm ventilated discs, crossed drilled (f & r) Electronics Electronics Gems EM40 Gearbox Gearbox Hewland FTR, 6 speed sequential, LSD semi-auto paddle shift Price Total £66,625 + local taxes - :shock: Love it! Sorry for the pics, I've completely forgotten how to do thumbnails. Feel free to edit this post.
