We've driven the BAC Mono quite extensively already, both
on road
on the track
, the latter in the hands of my colleague Steve Sutcliffe. Anyone expecting me to quell his almost gushing positivity towards the Mono is sadly going to be disappointed. I thought it was pretty damned marvellous.
All that effort engineering a grippy chassis...
Many people rather lazily refer to machinery of this type as 'track' cars. Of course the Mono is designed to be driven on a circuit, but its £80,000-plus price tag leaves it open to comparison with all manner of
dedicated track tackle
, and it can't compete with the
wings'n'slicks brigade
. Even so, it offers a fascinating driving experience.
The Mono, like the Atom, the Caterham and the X-Bow, is an experience car. It's as much about the sensation of driving it, as the speed with which it can complete a lap.
It's a high quality item. Build on this car - the first customer car delivered to RS Academy is of a very high standard. It has two cars, both of which are available for hire. Much as I love the looks of the Ariel, this is now my favourite piece of naked Brit car-design. The way you can peer through those front apertures is endlessly enjoyable.
Like an F1 car but you can drive it to the shops
It's powered by a 2.3-litre, 280hp Duratec and weighs 540kg. The day I drove it the Midlands was wetter than a fish's swimming cossie, but then I suppose you only really learn about a car's intrinsic balance in those conditions.
The other thing you learn is that the specific frequency of a Hewland FTR gearbox does something bizarre to a Sennheiser radio-microphone: hence the subtitles.
