If you’ve never heard of the BAC Mono, you’re probably not alone. Even among track-day semi-exotics like the KTM X-Bow and the Ariel Atom, the BAC (for Briggs Automotive Company) Mono is a relative unknown, thanks largely to its late entry into the market. BAC was only founded in 2009, and the Mono has only been commercially available since last year.
As the name implies, the Mono is a single-seater, intended primarily for track use (though road-legal in the UK). It’s light, tipping the scales at 1,188 pounds, which makes its 280 horsepower, 2.3-liter Cosworth four-cylinder more than good enough to get the job done. In fact, the Mono can sprint from 0 – 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 2.9 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 170 mph.
You can learn a lot about a car’s balance on a wet race track, and Chris Harris clearly has fun sliding the Mono through the corners on a soaking wet Rockingham circuit. The car makes enough power to be entertaining without being intimidating, and the suspension is tuned to be somewhat forgiving (though it is fully adjustable, allowing owners to dial it in any way they please). While this isn’t the best episode of Chris Harris On Cars, there’s still enough here to keep it interesting.
We’d love to see a throw-down between the BAC Mono, the Ariel Atom and the KTM X-Bow. They’re all aimed at a similar market, they’re all priced in the same ballpark and they all have strengths and weaknesses, If our bank account was large enough, we’d seriously consider parking one of these track day toys in our own garage, but the question remains: which is the best?
