BAC Mono Experiments With Novel Colored Carbon Fiber

Briggs Automotive Company, better known as BAC, wants to be taken seriously as a high-end automaker and to help achieve that, it has revealed a new commission finished in a colored carbon fiber. The stuff is called Hypetex and appears here in a titanium finish topped by a crystalized lacquer. On a car where minimal weight is of utmost importance, this stuff could not have found a better home.

The finish is the work of BAC's bespoke department and was chosen by a US-based customer. The first new BAC Mono was also ordered by an American and was revealed a few days ago in a stunning F1-inspired livery.

BAC says that, on its cars, paint typically adds around 138 grams of weight per square meter, but Hypetex only adds 17 grams to the curb weight over the same area, translating to an eight-times weight saving. The Hypetex carbon body was built by Formaplex, but that's not the only entity to use the stuff. The Ford Mustang Dark Horse also features colored carbon fiber in its blue carbon wheels, and that's also of the Hypetex variety. We suspect we'll see it used in other automotive applications soon.

"It has been incredible to use a material that is visually stunning yet retains BAC's laser focus on performance and lightweight technology," remarked Chris Lockhart, head of global sales at BAC.

We've now seen an F1-inspired livery and a body finished in colored carbon fiber, but with BAC expanding its presence in the US, these won't be the last custom creations we see. We suspect other carbon fiber tints will be showcased in due course, and more bespoke paint finishes are also inevitable.

This build is based on the Mono R, revealed in 2019. With 343 horsepower and a curb weight of just 1,223.5 pounds, it has a power-to-weight ratio of 618-hp-per-tonne, enabling 0-60 mph in just 2.5 seconds.

The latest Mono is a slightly less extreme version of this car, generating 311 hp.