Every sports car has been an attempt to bring on city roads power and speed of racing cars, but never before has any got so close to the goal as English company BAC with its single-seat car: Mono. And at first glance it is hard to believe that no one else has thought of something like this before.

The Briggs Automotive Company's Mono is a Formula 1 style car which can be legally driven anywhere, although probably not by everyone. The price of this incredible new toy, indeed, is around £80.000. For a car which weighs just 500Kg. But in comparison with cars of similar performance the price can be considered really low.

The Mono is able to reach 60mph in the impressive time of 2.8 seconds, for a maximum speed of 170mph. But remember to wear a helmet while driving it, because it has no windscreen.

The car is designed and built to replicate the experience of a racing car, just for the thrill of driving. There is no room for luggage or passengers and considering the condition of roads in the UK, that speed must be well controlled if you are sitting only few centimetres from the ground.

But comfort is definitely not the essence of this project. In fact from an engineering view-point the Mono is outstanding. The most recent creation of the Briggs brothers, Neil and Ian, is built with a carbon-fibre monocoque frame and is powered by a 4-cylinder engine of 280bhp. Its power-to-weight ratio of 520bhp/Ton is so high it beats the Bugatti Veyron's, the fastest road-car in the world.

The Briggs company is based in Runcorn, Cheshire, and specializes in sports cars. Ian Briggs said: "MONO is the culmination of a 12-year dream for us - the car we wanted to own but nobody else made.

"All cars are built to order on a first-come, first-served basis and our flexible production facility has the capacity to manufacture between 50 and 100 vehicles per year - or more if demand requires."

We can just try to hide our envy for the few lucky people who will be able to buy one of these dream cars and answer your foreseeable questions: there is a secure locker for the helmet and for the detachable steering wheel. But a question remains unanswered: is there a radio somewhere?