Mono – the new supercar from BAC – makes its global debut at Monterey Car Week

BAC is showcasing the brand’s new single-seater supercar at Monterey Car Week 2023.

Designed, engineered and developed to offer a new type of high-performance BAC driving experience, the Mono is intended to form the nucleus of the brand’s core product offering, as the company maintains its global expansion momentum.

Influencing the philosophy behind the creation of Mono has been the desire from an international customer base for a road-legal single-seater supercar that is equally at home on the road as it is on track, be that accelerating onto a mountain pass or hitting the apex on a challenging circuit.  

Inspired by the remit of the original Mono concept, a key strand in BAC’s legendary heritage that can be traced back to over a decade ago, the new Mono supercar is a sublime balance of extremes, utilising a carefully homologated package that is poised, powerful and uncompromised. The car’s aesthetic form is based on an evolved new-generation design language. 

“Launching the new Mono supercar at Monterey Car Week perfectly encapsulates the brilliant trajectory of BAC,” said Mike Flewitt, BAC chairman, at the ‘House of BAC’ in Carmel. “Not only is this the first time the company has been in an official capacity at Monterey Car Week, but we have chosen this iconic setting to show to the world our latest high-performance single-seater creation; a development that forms the basis of BAC’s core product offering as it continues to expand around the world. Mono places driver experience at the forefront, regardless of if that experience is on the road or the track.”

Engineered for balance; developed for extremes

The development of Mono has been guided by BAC’s ‘one-of-a-kind’ philosophy. It has been meticulously developed to form the core product offering from BAC while meeting demand for a single-seater supercar that is balanced in extremes.

“Mono is an authentic BAC supercar – it delivers the typical – yet not easily achievable – attributes that are part of the BAC DNA like high-performance, lightweight engineering, dynamic chassis, optimised suspension and an emotional design,” said Neill Briggs, co-founder and head of product development, BAC.

“Just as importantly, Mono also creates a connection to a new type of BAC driving experience, one that can seamlessly take to the road as easily as it can encounter the demands of on-track driving. In many ways, this new supercar is a homage to the original BAC Concept that we established over a decade ago, proving its fundamental longevity. The new Mono is a single-seater tour-de-force that has been engineered for balance but developed for extremes” added Neill.

At the heart of the new Mono is a naturally-aspirated 2.5-litre powertrain optimised to deliver the perfect amount of power and torque for a high-performance car that is agile and dynamic, both on-road and on-track. This translates to the powertrain, which revs to a rousing 8,000rpm, developing 320PS (315bhp) and 313Nm (231 lb-ft) of torque.

The powertrain has been engineered to deliver optimal performance that is linear and progressive, no matter what driving environment the Mono encounters. A raft of advanced measures have been implemented including high-tech forged connecting rods and forged pistons; performance-focused camshafts and uprated valve springs; an enhanced induction system with individual throttle bodies; an intake system with an aero-optimised carbon fibre inlet; remote filtration system and new carbon airbox. For the latter subsystem, a smaller and more compact unit has been designed to perfectly match the car’s specific power requirements that includes seamless mid-range torque.  

Showcasing the high-level innovation that BAC has become synonymous with, the Mono’s optimised power output results in an incredible power-to-weight ratio of 553bhp-per-tonne, meaning the supercar weighs just 570kg (1,257lbs). The precisely optimal weight distribution of 41% front and 59% rear further adds to the car’s agile yet composed approach.

The combination of its lightweight structure – thanks in part to BAC’s world-leading graphene-infused carbon panels – and high-performance capabilities allows the Mono to sprint to 60mph in just 2.7 seconds.

Aligning to the enhancements made to the powertrain are a raft of engineering optimisation undertakings that underpin the new supercar.

Part of BAC’s DNA comes from its unique state-of-the-art suspension and damping setup, a piece of proprietary technology that the company has been radically evolving and advancing for over a decade. During this time, the geometry arrangement has been refined and perfected, now realising 50% more anti-dive on the front and 50% more anti-squat on the rear, which in-turn increases body control and optimises handling performance and accessibility. For Mono, both suspension and the two-way adjustable racing dampers have been finely tuned to deliver the car’s goal of giving the driver the best experience on the road and track. The setup – both front and rear – is an adjustable pushrod activated twin wishbone system with needle roller-bearing mounting bell cranks that result in lower frictional losses. At the rear, Mono retains the six-speed motorsport-derived sequential transmission, with configurable gear ratios depending on the owner’s specific requirements. A close collaboration with Pirelli has resulted in a range of tyres being available for the new car, from the Mono-specific Trofeo R tyre, to slick and wet options.

Design evolution

The new Mono is graced with an evolved aesthetic treatment based on brand’s current design language, which debuted on the more track-focused Mono R. Reflecting the balanced engineering setup of the new BAC supercar, Mono’s design form is more subtle and beautifully rounded while retaining its stunning future-gazing profile, staying true to the Mono Concept of a BAC single-seater supercar being at home on the road as much as it is on the track.

The brand’s iconic shark-nose-front instantly aligns Mono visually to Mono R, as do the main LED beam headlights that are centrally mounted to reduce the frontal area. Every element and every surface have been carefully honed to enhance aerodynamics. At the rear, an aerodynamically optimised spoiler extends over the rear arches, adding a dramatic finish to the new supercar.

“The launch of the new Mono is a pivotal milestone for BAC,” said co-founder and design director, Ian Briggs. “Its proposition is different to that of Mono R but for its visual identity we wanted to forge a connection between the siblings that positioned them side by side on the one-seater supercar spectrum. With a more rounded aesthetic form, the Mono delivers that objective impeccably, evolving our current design language to reflect a more contemporary outlook.”

Production of the new Mono supercar from BAC has already commenced at the company’s HQ facility in Liverpool, UK, with orders already placed from around the world.

Chris Lockhart, Head of Global Sales for BAC, adds: “Demand for this new supercar is unprecedented. In fact, such has been the interest, we’ve already taken orders on the Mono before its official unveiling, with the first example due to be delivered immediately following the event.”