BAC DELIVERS FIRST MONO R
IN OUTRAGEOUS LIVERY INSPIRED
BY ICONIC PLAYSTATION RACING
GAME ‘WIPEOUT’

• BAC has delivered the very first Mono R supercar, finished in one
  of the most remarkable liveries ever produced by the company.
• Mono R #1 is inspired by the iconic Sony PlayStation anti-gravity racing series ‘WipEout’, paying homage to the most recognisable and popular team of the series – ‘FEISAR’.
• BAC collaborated with original WipEout co-creator and Game
  Designer Nick Burcombe, as well as acclaimed modern WipEout Graphic Designer Eddie Wainwright to create the stunning livery.
• Mask and painting processes took over 10 days to perfect, with over 400 individual FEISAR team livery graphics featuring throughout.
• Collaboration sees the union of two Liverpool icons, as the series of 10 WipEout games were created in the city BAC proudly calls home.
• WipEout-inspired supercar is the first of only 30 BAC Mono R
  models that will be delivered around the world.

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) has officially delivered the first BAC Mono R supercar to a European customer, finished in one of the most unique and outrageous liveries ever produced by the company.

The remarkable design of R #1 is inspired by the world-famous Sony PlayStation anti-gravity racing series ‘WipEout’, in which players race ships in challenging ballistic, anti-gravity racing and combat events at breakneck speed.

The hyper-futuristic series proved to be an overwhelming global success, with several million units sold across the world throughout its reign since 1994. The most recognisable – and iconic – team to feature across the WipEout series is ‘FEISAR’ (Federal European Industrial Science and Research), which the first-ever BAC Mono R pays homage to.

Mono R #1 is finished in the classic FEISAR blue, yellow and white scheme, plus three additional colours feature alongside visible carbon aspects. The intricate masking and painting process took over 10 days to complete, with over 400 complex painted graphics spread across the supercar’s body in line with the FEISAR racing ship’s design.

BAC is known for offering the ultimate scope for customisation, with every supercar that leaves the Liverpool factory being a One of a Kind, one-of-one model. So, when the realisation of a WipEout-inspired dream was tabled by the first Mono R owner in January 2020, the design team relished the challenge.

BAC’s team hosted several meetings with original WipEout game creator and
Designer Nick Burcombe, as well as acclaimed modern WipEout Graphic Designer Eddie Wainwright to bring their video-game creation to life with the perfect livery and matching helmet scheme.

Burcombe famously had the idea for WipEout while drinking with local visionary 3D artist Jim Bowers at a pub in Merseyside, before going on to lead design operations for the game through Psygnosis at their Liverpool base – just a few miles away from BAC’s HQ in the city.

WipEout continued to be developed for over two decades and helped birth the legendary ‘PlayStation Generation’, showcasing the power of Sony’s original PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 with each new addition to the series.

BAC also has an extensive history in Sony PlayStation games, with the Mono supercar featuring in the likes of Grid, Need For Speed, Project Cars 2 and 3 and DRIVECLUB. On top of this, Mono will appear in the upcoming Gran Turismo 7 game for PlayStation 5. 

The WipEout-inspired Mono R is the first car of only 30 that will be delivered around the world by BAC, before the new-generation, turbocharged BAC Mono enters production.

The proud owner of Mono R #1 said: “When playing WipEout on the PlayStation, I often dreamt of one day being able to fly around different race tracks for real in my own FEISAR ship. It’s not quite anti-gravity racing… but the frankly outrageous Mono R gives me the exact same sensation. It’s a true feat of engineering, technology and design – and with the way it looks, it certainly wouldn’t be out of place in any WipEout game!“

Ian Briggs, Co-Founder and Design Director at BAC, added: “Mono R is a very special supercar – a record-breaking, bar-setting, super-exclusive model the likes of which the world has never seen before. It’s only fitting, then, that the first car to leave the BAC factory is one of the most special we’ve ever produced. As always, the BAC design team left no stone unturned when it came to creating the perfect livery and it was a true pleasure working with Nick and Eddie bringing their genius to life. We’re no strangers to turning heads with our supercars, but R #1 may just turn more heads than ever.”

Key Statistics

Top Speed: 170mph
0-60mph: 2.5 seconds
Power: 340bhp
Weight: 555kg
Power-to-Weight ratio: 612bhp-per-tonne
Price: from £190,950

Mono R serves as The New Reference – the very pinnacle of design, innovation and engineering. It sports a stunning new generation of Mono DNA, features revolutionary new materials and technology and offers world-beating performance on the road and track.

R is 35bhp more powerful and 25kg lighter than the standard Mono, at 340bhp and 555kg – equating to a truly remarkable power-to-weight ratio of 612bhp-per-tonne.

Although still undeniably Mono, the R sports a stunning new generation of the single-seater’s design DNA. A brand new approach to body engineering has seen all surfaces designed from scratch and 44 bespoke carbon parts restyled to give the car a more aggressive, organic and futuristic stance.

The striking new look of Mono R is defined by the imposing shark nose front, which epitomises true efficiency of form courtesy of a sleek and homogeneous redesign. Main beam LED headlights centrally mounted on the nose are a distinguishing feature that reduce the frontal area and contribute to a more minimalist appearance.

Mono R’s sleeker and tighter appearance has been achieved by reductions in visible mass across the full body; plus there’s been a 20mm reduction in overall height and a 25mm increase in length over the standard Mono.

Having set The New Reference for design, BAC’s talented engineers have ensured Mono R breaks new ground with its engine, too. Co-developed with long-standing engine partner Mountune, the Mono’s 2.5-litre, four-cylinder unit has increased in power by 35bhp to deliver an astonishing 340bhp.

BAC and Mountune left no stone unturned when it came to meeting power targets: increasing the cylinder bore size and reducing new billet crankshaft stroke to optimise power and torque delivery and increase rpm from 7,800rpm to 8,800rpm.

The striking new Formula-inspired ram-air inlet system provides pressurised air into an all-new throttle body and cylinder head system to further increase power, plus a higher-spec, drive-by-wire motor allows for a quicker throttle response.

As a result, the bespoke Mountune engine now offers 136bhp per litre – a new naturally aspirated global record for a road-legal model.

Mono R is the first production car in the world fully incorporating the use of graphene-enhanced carbon fibre in every body panel. Using the revolutionary material enhances the structural properties of the fibre to make panels stronger and lighter with improved mechanical and thermal performance. 

The brand’s latest world first comes as a result of a successful APC-funded Research & Development project into the production-readiness of graphene. Working alongside Haydale and Pentaxia through the Niche Vehicle Network (NVN), BAC is now launching the advantages into series production.

Mono R is one of the most exclusive supercars ever made, with a total of just 30 models being produced and sold to existing Mono customers around the globe.

BAC-Mono