Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) is celebrating a ground-breaking 2016, well deserved it is too.

• Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) is celebrating a hugely prosperous 2016, with its Mono supercar reaping endless success around the globe
• From breaking new ground across five continents to seeing off the fastest cars in the world on track, the Mono has enjoyed a fantastic year
• BAC now exports its One-of-a-Kind supercar to 30 different territories, including the likes of Canada, Myanmar, UAE and Nigeria, plus new dealers have opened across the USA and Asia, most recently in Taiwan
• The Mono hit headlines when it became the fastest car ever tested by evo Magazine at the Anglesey Coastal Circuit, while it scooped coveted awards from TopGear Magazine and the Northern Automotive Alliance

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) is celebrating a ground-breaking 2016, as the Liverpool-based manufacturer has enjoyed an incredibly fruitful year on all four corners of the globe.

BAC is the company behind the One-of-a-Kind Mono supercar, which has risen from strength to strength since it launched in 2011. And over the past 12 months, it’s truly taken off with a series of world firsts.

Back in the summer at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, BAC debuted an innovative new product for its Mono: hybrid carbon-composite wheels. These wheels typified the company’s approach to new technology, as did the reveal of its use of graphene just two months later.

BAC was the first manufacturer in the world to develop a car featuring panels incorporating graphene – an innovative and lightweight material – on the rear wheelarches.

This world-first earned BAC an audience with Their Royal Highnesses Prince William and Kate Middleton. At the University of Manchester’s National Graphene Institute (NGI), the Duke of Cambridge sampled the Mono in all its glory and even took to the cockpit before labelling the car “amazing”.

The Mono is forever tweaked to be as light as possible, and its diminutive 580kg mass allows for a staggering power-to-weight ratio of 525bhp per tonne. Thanks to such immense power, the bespoke British supercar has been able to topple some of the fastest cars in the business on the track in 2016.

At the back end of the year, evo Magazine took the Mono to the Anglesey Coastal Circuit to pitch it against the likes of McLaren’s P1 and 675LT, the Ferrari 458 Speciale and Porsche’s 918 Spyder and 911 GT3 RS in its Leaderboard video series.

But the Mono saw off all of the above and even got the better of the race-specific, slick-shod McLaren P1 GTR, which had set the bar at 1:08.70 shortly before the Mono took to the track.

BAC’s supercar outgunned its fellow Brit by a whole second and on road-legal tyres to become a world record holder and a pace icon.

And as the P1 GTR costs a whopping £2 million, BAC’s achievement was a raw demonstration of getting the ultimate value for money from a supercar.

Such brilliance didn’t go unnoticed, either, as the Mono’s feat hit headlines all around the world. The media was stunned by the margin of the Mono’s triumph, which owed much to the team’s continuous strive for excellence.

Said team enjoyed its fair share of glory in 2016, too, achieving industry recognition at the annual Northern Automotive Alliance (NAA) Awards. BAC got the better of high-profile competition to scoop the Logistics Excellence and International Trade awards at the event in Manchester.

The International Trade award recognised just how much BAC has done for British export, having shipped the Mono to as many as 30 countries since its launch. The company added several all-new territories to its list in 2016, including the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Belgium, Germany and Poland.

Plus, BAC opened further franchised dealerships outside of the UK, including three in the United States of America and another in Taiwan. BAC Hong Kong already distributes to Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and BAC renewed the dealer’s contract for a further two years.

As well as the NAA double, BAC also took home the Best for Selfish Sundays award in TopGear Magazine’s Best Cars in the World issue – an award that goes to a car that is all about the driver and is thoroughly enjoyable out on the open road.

BAC Co-Founder and Director of Product Development, Neill Briggs, said: “It has been a monumental year for BAC and everyone associated with the brand. The Mono has become a truly global product and we’re forever breaching new territories and discovering new fans.

“Winning awards both for our technical excellence and innovation as well as the Mono’s brilliance on the road shows just how amazing our staff and supply chain are. We’re also incredibly thankful for our partners and, of course, our clients – who are the very heartbeat of BAC and are so passionate about the Mono.

“Next year is looking like being just as exciting for us all. There’ll be new track records to beat, new territories to enter and, hopefully, even more awards to win.

William and Kate pop along to BAC to sit in and learn about the one-of-a-king BAC Mono Supercar.

• Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) rubs shoulders with royalty, as Prince William and wife Kate Middleton sample bespoke Mono supercar during a visit to the University of Manchester
• His Royal Highness Prince William sat inside the one-of-a-kind Mono, which was showcased at the University’s National Graphene Institute (NGI)
• BAC is the first car manufacturer in the world to use the innovative material graphene, which keeps the Mono’s weight as light as possible and provides a performance benefit to the driver
• BAC is proud of its British heritage; the Mono is built from 1,250 bespoke components from 100 suppliers – 95% of which are based in the UK

The exemplary work of Liverpool-based Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) has been given the royal seal of approval by their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

At the University of Manchester’s National Graphene Institute (NGI) on Friday 14 October, BAC founders Neill and Ian Briggs showcased their highly acclaimed Mono supercar to Prince William and wife Kate Middleton.

His Royal Highness Prince William even took to the cockpit of the British-built, single-seater Mono, which is constructed using the innovative and lightweight material graphene.

In fact, it’s the first car in the world to use graphene in the production process, with a composite making up the rear wheelarches and providing weight-saving and body-strengthening benefits.

BAC has enjoyed success all around the world and has exported its Mono supercar to 28 countries across five continents since its launch in 2011. Yet the brand remains proud of its British heritage and strives to use locally sourced parts in its production process.

The Mono is built from 1,250 unique components from 100 suppliers, 95% of which are based in BAC’s homeland. Naturally, this drew plenty of interest from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were very impressed with the Mono and labelled it “amazing.”

BAC Co-Founder and Director of Product Development Neill Briggs said: “It was truly an honour to meet Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and a particular privilege to seat Prince William inside the Mono. We are incredibly proud to be British, and to meet members of the Royal Family was a surreal experience that just shows how far this company has come.”

Co-Founder and Design Director Ian Briggs added: “Impressing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with the Mono was another massive feat for BAC, as we continue to go from strength to strength. Using graphene is just one of the many groundbreaking innovations on the Mono to ensure we stay at the forefront of the automotive industry. Having Prince William sit in the car was a great experience – perhaps his grandmother fancies a go, too!”

USA - The BAC MONO is on display at the Pebble Beach, Stave Wine Cellar, the UK brand returns to many plaudits.

• BAC will be returning at Pebble Beach in 2016, with the Mono being proudly displayed at the Stave Wine Cellar
• The car is on show at the contemporary location at The Inn at the heart of the Spanish Bay
• The stand is presented in association with prestigious winery Williams Selyem
• BAC has also appeared at the fantastically successful 2016 V Foundation Wine Celebration in California, helping raise millions of dollars for charity

BAC is proud to be taking part in the 2016 Pebble Beach weekend, with the Mono going on display at the heart of the Spanish Bay.

The single-seater supercar will be on show at the Stave Wine Cellar at The Inn in the Spanish Bay. It will be presented in partnership with prestigious Californian winery Williams Selyem. The Mono will showcase the level of personalisation available to buyers and will be on show on Saturday 20 August.

The Mono is going from strength to strength in America, having also played a prominent role at the recent V Foundation Wine Celebration, where it was invited to be an official sponsor.

The V Foundation event toured around several of the most exclusive vineyards in the Californian Napa Valley region, and the BAC Mono was a regular feature throughout.

The UK company also played a key role in the glamorous and prestigious fundraising events over the weekend, with a BAC experience one of the highlights in the auction taking place at the headline gala dinner at the exclusive Nickel and Nickel vineyard on Saturday night. The weekend proved a phenomenal success for all concerned, raising $5.2m for charity.

As well as its other charitable contributions to the V Foundation in various forms, BAC also pledged to donate a large charitable contribution for clients that purchased a Mono at the Wine Celebration weekend.

BAC Chief Operating Officer, Mark Rayner, said: “The V Foundation is a fantastic charity that does wonderful work and raised millions of dollars in the fight against cancer since 1993. BAC is honoured to be involved with arguably the V Foundation’s highest profile event in the year, and is delighted to have helped push the fundraising levels even higher.

“It is wonderful to be returning to the stunning and prestigious surroundings of Pebble Beach. The weekend is always a glorious collection of the greatest cars in the world from all eras, and we are proud to be representing BAC and British manufacturing in California.”

BAC takes large development leap by using graphene on the single seater supercar, the Mono.

• BAC takes large development leap by using graphene on the single seater supercar, the Mono
• The use of the innovative material is a world first, as BAC further illustrates its ability to make technological advancements
• The panel development was done in collaboration with Haydale Composite Solutions
• The lightweight material features on the Mono’s rear wheel arches
• graphene is lighter and stronger than carbon fibre, bringing weight and performance benefits

BAC is the first manufacturer in the world to develop a car featuring panels made from graphene, the innovative and lightweight material that brings weight and strength benefits.

BAC has partnered with Haydale Composite Solutions to create rear wheel arches made out of graphene, and has been putting the material through its paces on the Mono, the world’s only road legal single-seater supercar. 

Graphene is made of sheets of carbon just one atom thick, and is significantly lighter than standard carbon fibre. It is also stronger than carbon fibre, meaning that it can bring weight reductions of around 20% while being 200 times stronger than steel. These benefits could have implications for cost, performance and fuel economy when applied wider in the manufacturing process.

BAC chose to test the use of graphene on the rear wheel arches due to the size and complexity of the part, to thoroughly test the manufacturing process and how the material fitted in with the car.

BAC Development Director and co-founder Neill Briggs said: “BAC is uniquely placed in the automotive industry to be able to take innovative steps, and latest work with graphene is further proof of this. This development work is further proof of our ability to work with the very latest materials and innovators. At BAC we don’t wait for new technology to come to us, we actively seek it out and work with the very best in the industry to stay at the forefront of the automotive and motorsport industries.

“Making significant weight savings and improving body strength will allow us to offer improved performance to our customers. This is the latest in a line of ground-breaking innovations on the Mono, and we were delighted to have worked with graphene composite industry leaders, Haydale, on this exciting project.”

Ebby Shahidi, Haydale Composite Solutions Ltd.’s Director of Aerospace and Defence added: “We are pleased to have worked on the design and development of the graphene enhanced carbon fibre materials for the BAC Mono. These initial materials have shown some major increases in impact and thermal performance coupled with improved surface finish and it’s pleasing to see these attributes being demonstrated on such a high performance vehicle as the Mono.

“We look forward to collaborating further with BAC and delivering even higher performance materials and components to increase the performance of this exciting vehicle.”

BAC showed the graphene enhanced Mono at the Science in the City festival in Manchester.