There are few cars like the BAC Mono. This street-legal track-day car has just one seat, no roof and no windscreen.
But what it does have is a 2.5-litre four-cylinder Mountune engine pumping out 305bhp, and if you stick that in a car that weighs little more than half a ton (580kg), you have an absolute rocket on your hands.
With a power-to-weight ratio of 525bhp per tonne and a 2.8 second 0-60mph sprint, it is officially the quickest car on sale in the UK right now, a title it shares with the Lamborghini Aventador.
It is one of the fastest cars to get around the BBC Top Gear track with a lap time of 1:14.3 [watch the full lap here] and it has now become the quickest road-legal car ever tested by performance car magazine Evo, completing the Anglesey Coastal Circuit in 1:07.70 seconds.
That means it’s nippier than the Ferrari 458 Speciale, McLaren’s P1 and 675LT and Porsche’s 918 Spyder and 911 GT3 RS, but it has also outpaced race-specific models such as the Radical RXC Turbo 500 and McLaren’s £1.9 million P1 GTR.
Ian Briggs, BAC’s co-founder and design director said it was an “incredible feat” for the Liverpool-based brand, which was only set up in 2009 and boasts just 60 employees.
“The Mono has proved time and time again that it can compete with the best in the business, and its remarkable lap at Anglesey has made it a true pace icon,” he commented.
“It also proves that the Mono drives as good as it looks – this is a wonderful lap time from a wonderful car.”
The Mono also completed Goodwood’s famous 1.16-mile hillclimb in 47.9 seconds during unofficial timed runs at June’s Festival of Speed. That’s notably quicker than the 51.33 seconds set by Anthony Reid in a Noble M600 that weekend.
Such a remarkable car doesn’t come cheap; prices start at £110,328. That kind of money could get you a BMW i8, or three Ariel Atoms.
For more articles like this, receive our weekly e-newsletter, including partner deals and all things motoring, register your email below.
Please note: You cannot subscribe to Smart-Motoring unless you put a tick in the checkbox below to indicate have read and agreed to our privacy policy.
[…] The BAC Mono is the only road-legal, single-seater supercar and is the joint quickest car you can buy right now, a title it shares with the Lamborghini Aventador. It is also the nippiest road-legal car ever tested by performance car magazine Evo. […]