Liverpool's BAC is embarking on a bold new era of repositioning and expansion, taking to the stage at Monterey Car Week for the first time to reveal the latest iteration of its Mono single-seat supercar.
A subtle but effective evolution of the car which launched in its earliest form some 15 years ago, the new Mono is described by co-founder and director Neil Briggs as offering a "broad range of appeal" which marks it out from the existing car.
It sticks with a fettled version of the 2.5-litre atmo Ford motor from the existing Mono, revving to 8000rpm and pumping 316bhp and 231lb ft to the rear wheels - which in the 570kg Mono is good for a 0-60mph time of 2.7 seconds.
Modifications to the four-cylinder unit include the addition of forged connecting rods and pistons, uprated camshafts and valve springs and a modified induction system with individual throttle bodies, and the engine now breathes through an aero-optimised carbonfibre intake.
These upgrades, together with tweaks to the hardcore, race-bred suspension system, result in a car "that is equally at home on the road as it is on the track", said BAC.
On the surface, the new Mono adopts a look modelled on the Mono R which launched in 2021, but Briggs told Autocar that while "the aesthetic might be reasonably familiar, the car itself will have a different character - and I think that character is perfectly positioned for those people who attend Monterey."
He suggested that BAC's repositioning as a luxury brand means it should cater as much to "those people see driving as a leisure activity" as it does "people who are track-focused and only use their cars on track - down to the last 10th or 100th in terms of performance".
Revealing the car in California – in a dedicated temporary venue dubbed 'House of BAC' is symbolic of the outfit's aspirations of expanded global visibility and market reach.
