Automotive PR – In Automotive PR news, 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.

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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!”

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Notes to Editors

The University of Manchester has been intimately involved in graphene since its inception in 2004 and are founder members of the National Graphene Institute (NGI). Drs Haigh and Vijayaraghavan were appointed through the 2009 £5.3M EPSRC Science and Innovation Award entitled “Maximising the Impact of Graphene Research on Innovation through Materials Science, Chemistry and Engineering.”

Bespoke supercar manufacturer BAC (Briggs Automotive Company) is based in Liverpool and was co-founded by brothers Ian and Neill Briggs. It produces the fast and highly acclaimed Mono supercar, a single-seater formula-style car that provides a visceral and exhilarating driving experience.

Since its launch in 2011 it has been going from strength to strength and is now sold in several markets around the world. It launched with great success and fanfare in Hong Kong at the end of 2015, with eight cars sold in a single night. BAC dealers can also be found in North America, Japan and London.

The 2016 model year version of the Mono comes with a four-cylinder 305bhp 2.5-litre Mountune engine, which takes the 580kg car from 0-60mph in just 2.8sec.

BAC recently launched a carbon hybrid wheel and announced the use of super material graphene, which is up to 20 per cent lighter than carbon fibre and as much as 200 times stronger than steel.

Despite its global appeal, BAC Mono remains proudly British, with parts sourced from its home country wherever possible.

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