Currently reading: New 2023 BAC Mono begins British firm's global luxury push

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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.

New bac mono front lights on

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.

With a tight network of US dealers secured, the firm can begin to ramp up its presence stateside, and the message accompanying that expansion, according to Briggs, is that "the Mono is not about transportation". Rather, "it's a luxury goods product, and certain high-net worth individuals understand that better than most because they are fortunate to have the right tool for the job."

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He added: "They have several different cars that deliver several different driving experiences and transportation. From a BAC perspective, we're reinforcing the message that we're not about transportation, we're about leisure and driving as a leisure activity."

New bac mono head on

Briggs explained that BAC remains small enough to foster an 'intimate' relationship with each of its clients, and with a massively expanded portfolio of personalisation options – including specially selected paint schemes, gearbox ratios, suspension set-ups and even moulded steering wheels – for each buyer, it is able to provide a highly bespoke experience for every Mono buyer.

The company has now sold all 40 examples of the fearsome Mono R, and with the upgraded Mono now rolling down the line at the firm's Speke factory (to cater to "unprecedented" demand), thoughts have now turned to the next evolution of the Mono.

As already reported by Autocar, the next stage of the Mono's lifecycle will herald the introduction of a turbocharger for the first time, with the current 2.5-litre atmo engine swapped for Ford's latest 2.3-litre Ecoboost four-pot, as found in the Focus ST hot hatch.

Briggs told Autocar that while today's car can be homologated for us in the US and other key markets, "ultimately, to get into new markets cheaply, including mainland Europe and other export markets, we need to reduce emissions. Obviously many manufacturers have long since moved over to turbo engines." He confirmed that the turbocharged Mono will arrive within the next 12-18 months.

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New bac mono full side

Beyond that, Briggs was tight-lipped on what 'life after Mono' looks like for BAC, pledging only that the company's values – innovation, engineering excellence and material science – will be common to all future products.

"I'm not giving you an example of where we might go," he said. "But just to make a point: if it's an off-roader, it will deliver off-road. If it's purely for track use, it will deliver on the two-seat leisure activity that it's intended for.

"I think what we're very good at is picking our niche and delivering a car that is very focused on that design brief. That's very much what our values are all about

BAC has not revealed pricing, but the new Mono is expected to command a slight premium over its predecessor while leaving space above for the R, with an expected price tag of around £245,000. Customer deliveries begin imminently.

Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: Deputy editor

Felix is Autocar's deputy editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

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Anton motorhead 19 August 2023
This is what Lotus should have been like. Light, agile, fast an fun.
Ravon 9 August 2023

Billet Aluminium Crankshaft, what on earth has happened to a good old editor who knows a thing or two ? After the previous poster highlighted the obvious mistake one would like to think it would be edited out of the website .

johnfaganwilliams 9 August 2023

Sorry if I am dumb - what on earth do you with these things? Go to the pub? Mess about on track days? Honestly I admire the design and exquisite execution but have absolutely no idea what is the point of them. Can someone explain?

gagaga 18 August 2023

Get up early on a sunday morning for a drive once a month.  More fun and cheaper than taking the wife shopping.

The owner already has a 911 GTS as a daily and a range rover/Urus for when he's taking the wife somewhere.