Briggs Automotive Company, BAC for short, is one of the very few manufacturers that can say they’ve produced a racecar for the street. Many companies have come close, but few are nearly as hardcore as the BAC Mono.

Certified funny man and car collector, Jay Leno, recently invited Shinoo Mapleton of Sector 111 up to his garage to take a closer look at the track-bred, single-seat machine. Powered by a 2.3-liter Duratec-based and Cosworth-built 4-cylinder engine that produces a healthy 280 horsepower, the Mono gets up to 60 mph rather fast – 2.8-seconds to be exact. The horsepower is transmitted to the ground via a sequential Hewland FTR transaxle that is pneumatically shifted by paddles located on the steering wheel.

The power numbers might not sound like much, but the car weighs 1,500 pounds in its complete form. As the two are walking around the car, Mapleton pops open the “glove box,” only to find registration papers and gloves. However, the compartment can accomodate all the wearable racing gear you’ll need for a track day. We just can’t believe that there’s actually gloves in a glove compartment.

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When Leno takes the Mono out on the road, it’s obvious by his reaction that he absolutely loves the car. What’s not to love, though? It’s a dedicated racecar … that just happens to be street-legal. BAC founders, Ian and Neil Briggs, had a dream to produce a street-legal Formula 1 car, and we think they hit the nail on the head with the Mono. If you ever see one roaming the streets, consider yourself lucky as these cars are not mass-produced and are very rare.