There's always been a market for lightweight purist cars. Most of these are track toys for the upper-middle class, Lotus, Caterham, Arial, and BAC. The latter saw the efforts from these competitors as impure and full of excess weight. One of these of course is a second passenger. For nearly a decade the BAC Mono existed as the pinnacle of sports cars and track cars. With 300 horsepower and a curb weight of 580 kilograms, the original Mono captured the hearts of many across real-life and video games.

Lighter and faster, BAC evolved the Mono's near decade-old design.

What's New To The BAC Mono?

Not much has changed with Mono's formula. The top speed of 170 miles per hour remains, this is more than enough, especially when lacking a windshield. What has changed is the engine, now a turbo unit. According to the BAC YouTube channel, the 2.3-liter in-line four motor produces 332 horsepower. Not a dizzying number—Volkswagen's Golf R is more impressive than this. However, when coupled with the 570-kilogram weight of the car, it provides 582 horsepower per tonne. This results in a 0-60 mph time of 2.7 seconds. This new engine takes a small reduction in displacement, but with forced induction horsepower sees a mild increase. But the headline figure is the torque increase, which now hits 400-newton meters.

RELATED:10 Reasons Why We Love The BAC Mono

Retaining the carbon fiber construction of the previous model, the BAC Mono R looks to innovate in any way that it can. This comes at a price, though. The Mono R sells for £165,950 in the United Kingdom. Converting to around $220,000 this car has stiff competition from the likes of the Porsche 911 Turbo S, which not only meets this 0-60 times but also gives the customer a lot more car for their money. What BAC does, is give the customer is a raw driving experience.

How Is The BAC Mono R So Light?

BAC Mono
BAC via YouTube

Neills Briggs the founder of BAC refers to the Mono R as a generative design. Taking the example of the wheel on the new model, it's a quarter of a kilogram lighter than the old model's. The original wheel itself broke new ground as it's two kilograms lighter than a conventional alloy wheel. The R is the culmination of these small tweaks made to the design. Briggs continues to claim that all these improvements result in better drag and downforce than before. It's an evolution of the model. Originally made in partnership with companies like Mountune and Cosworth, the original Mono was no slouch, but the R is more aggressive in every way.

RELATED:BAC Mono R Sets New Lap Record At Red Bull Ring For Fastest Production Car

Every body panel has seen a redesign. The overall aesthetic remains the same but from every angle, it's sharper and more aggressive. Each of these is lighter as well. BAC's engineers have incorporated graphene into their cars. This material has the thickness of only one atom as opposed to carbon fiber's micrometer thickness. According to CNBC, this material was to revolutionize Formula 1 car design. Nearly a decade later it has found its way to a vehicle that is technically a road car.