Company Profile: Briggs Automotive Company Ltd
One of the most exciting and unique new cars to appear over recent years is the BAC Mono, and the company that produces it, Cheshire-based Briggs Automotive Company Ltd – now a Northwest Automotive Alliance member – is looking for suppliers in the region to work with them to help with expansion plans.
The BAC Mono is designed to offer the driving experience of a racing car in a single-seater, open-top, road-legal sports car. Compared to some other track-focused road cars, it stands out not only because of its high-tech engineering, but also because of its thoroughly well-designed, modern appearance.
The BAC Mono is c onstructed using high-strength carbon fibre composite around a steel safety cell. It meets FIA Formula One regulations for rollover protection and is fully legal for road use. It’s powered by a 2.3 litre, 285bhp, four-cylinder powerplant provided by Cosworth, mated to an F3-spec six-speed sequential gearbox from Hewland, which delivers paddle-shift changes in 35 milliseconds, helping the Mono to hit 60mph in under three seconds.
All of the driver’s controls are located on the removable steering wheel, and seat size, pedal reach and steering wheel position are all optimised to each customer.
BAC has already worked with engineers from Cosworth, Hewland, Sachs, AP and Kuhmo, and the company is now looking for more suppliers in the region to help with production of the Mono. By the time you read this, BAC will have delivered cars to its first customers – including private individuals and track day companies – and the business needs to gear up to producing around 200 vehicles over the next few years, which requires a considerable expansion.
Neill Briggs, BAC Engineering & Project Director, says: “The interest in the Mono has been incredible, but this means we have to significantly grow our business to cater for demand. Coming from a racing background, expanding a car manufacturing business is quite a challenge, and I had no idea who to turn to for support. Trying to work out what the various business support and quango-type organisations offer was like a minefield and just too overwhelming, but thankfully I came into contact with the NAA and they have really helped to provide the focused advice and support required in a way that was easy to understand. Over the coming months and years it’s likely that the NAA will be able to help us in many ways.”
The NAA’s Martin Andrews says “I’m confident that the NAA Business Excellence programme is ideal to assist BAC in areas such as quality, health and safety, recruitment, training, and even relocation to larger premises. We should also be able to provide signposting to funding support.”
Other key staff at Briggs Automotive Company Ltd include Ian Briggs – Design Director ; Murray Adams – Exterior and Interior Designer; Guy Harvey – Exterior & Interior Designer; and Joel Allison – Principal Engineer.
You can see the BAC Mono in action at the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power which runs from the 15-17 June near Malpas in Cheshire. The Mono will be competing on the 1.2 mile circuit against machinery such as the Ariel Atom 500 V8, McLaren MP4-12C, Ferrari 458 Italia and Radical SR 3 SL. Watch out for more reports about the progress of the BAC Mono in forthcoming editions of this newsletter.
