Currently reading: Ex-McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt named new BAC chairman
Brit outlines plan to take Liverpool firm into the future, with scope for electrification and a two-seater

Mike Flewitt, former CEO of McLaren Automotive, has been named as chairman of the Briggs Automobile Company (BAC), promising to bring his experience of four decades at the top of the car industry to build what its founders said is their company’s “ambitious growth strategy and new model programme”. 

Flewitt said he has known the Briggs brothers for several years and has been deeply impressed with both the quality of their single-seat BAC Mono R car and the efficiency of their tiny but profitable 40-person business.

Here he answers questions on his new role, which begins immediately.

You must have had other opportunities after McLaren. Why choose BAC?

"I’m a big fan of the Briggs brothers and I love what they do. Anyone who knows me knows I have a garage full of lightweight cars; BAC’s guiding principles are the same as my own. I tried the Mono R last year and was amazed by its capability and the sheer focus on the fun of driving.

"I’m especially excited because BAC is based a couple of miles from where I grew up in Liverpool, not far from Ford Halewood, where I joined the industry in the 1980s."

Bac mono hero front

How can you help?

"Neil Briggs is a designer and Ian [Briggs] is an engineer. I’m neither, but I do have a good deal of industry knowhow: experience of how markets work, of distribution, of financial and manufacturing practice. I believe this can be useful, especially in the new expansion phase they’re contemplating."

What are the details of the expansion? 

"BAC will build steadily. The company makes around 40 cars a year now – at prices up to £250,000 – and it’s profitable, which not many small companies can say. We’ll build steadily as we take the cars into new markets. It’s possible to see us doing 50 cars next year.

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"That may not sound like many, but it’s a 20% increase. In two or three years, we could get to 100 cars. We’re having discussions with distributors right now about US sales.

"The existing factory might strain a bit at 100 cars, but it could handle it."

Talking new models, is there serious talk of a BAC two-seater?

"It’s a conversation we’ve had, but it’s not on the agenda. We’re aware that a road-going but track-focused single-seater as expensive as the Mono R is a pretty specialist product.

"Its main emphasis is on providing incredible driving characteristics. But we wouldn’t rule out a two-seater, provided it could match the driving quality of existing cars."

You come from an ultra-high tech company making carbonfibre chassis and bespoke hybridised engines. The Mono R has neither. Will you press for higher tech in BAC’s next designs?

"The powertrain and the chassis are areas we’re discussing, but BAC’s quality and driving standards are already among the highest anywhere. We’d have to be sure changes would improve the performance or customer appeal of our cars. We’ll always look very carefully at where we put our investment."

Bac factory visit 143

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Is part of your mission to prepare for electrification?

"For sure. We have alternative powertrain options right now, but we’re not in a rush to implement them, because at present they wouldn’t work as well as what we have now, and our customers aren’t calling for them. But helping BAC prepare for the future is very much part of my role."

Does it feel great to be back working with high-performance cars?

"Of course. I really don’t feel as if I’ve been away; after McLaren, it was simply necessary to soft-pedal for a while. But I wanted my next role to be something I could be certain I’d enjoy. And I love this industry, and especially the BAC ethos of lightweight construction."

Steve Cropley

Steve Cropley Autocar
Title: Editor-in-chief

Steve Cropley is the oldest of Autocar’s editorial team, or the most experienced if you want to be polite about it. He joined over 30 years ago, and has driven many cars and interviewed many people in half a century in the business. 

Cropley, who regards himself as the magazine’s “long stop”, has seen many changes since Autocar was a print-only affair, but claims that in such a fast moving environment he has little appetite for looking back. 

He has been surprised and delighted by the generous reception afforded the My Week In Cars podcast he makes with long suffering colleague Matt Prior, and calls it the most enjoyable part of his working week.

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jason_recliner 18 January 2023

Feels like a step sideways, being charitable.