BAC Mono review

The Mono is a phenomenally quick machine: thanks to a kerbweight of just 540kg and a 2.3-litre Cosworth engine developing 280bhp, it’ll dispatch the 0–62mph sprint in under three seconds and keep running all the way to 170mph.

But more than the outright acceleration, it’s the monumental, massless way the Mono changes direction that really sets it apart. Lying on your back with the engine behind your head and the six-speed sequential transmission firing through gearchanges like a rifle, it becomes an act of instinct to thread the Mono through corners – albeit one requiring a recalibration of your brain to deal with its physics-warping ability. At the very limit of grip, there’s a hint of understeer, but for the most part, the BAC is deliciously neutral, making it easy to explore the Mono’s limits without fear it’ll deposit you in the Armco. But, despite its incredible performance, the Mono somehow manages to be civilised around town at normal speeds. Far from turning your lower vertebrae into sneezing powder, it rides sublimely, that open-wheel suspension design providing 100mm of vertical wheel travel and allowing the Mono to articulate over the nastiest road bumps.