Preparations are set for the launching of the world's only single-seat racing car built to run on public roads in Chinese mainland, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The racing car known as BAC Mono was designed by Britons Neill and Ian Briggs, who described it as the ultimate road beast. The car, which can run at 274 kilometers an hour, will be launched in either Beijing or Shanghai in the coming months.
The brothers believe the car will become the ultimate "big boy" accessory among young cosmopolitan executives in China's big cities.
The two also hope to attract the first female buyer, who is willing to splash out at least $235,000 (plus delivery and taxes) on the BAC Mono. They said the price can double if buyers avail of the full range of customization.
The report said that the car, which is capable of reaching a speed of 0 to 96.5 km/h in 2.8 seconds, made its debut in Hong Kong a few months ago. Currently, the waiting list stands at 14 months as the hand-built sports racer comes out of its Liverpool production line at a rate of one car a week.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, co-founder and product development director Neill Briggs described the plans of the company as the launch date approaches.
"We will wait until the Spring Festival is over so we are looking at the end of March, but certainly in the coming months." Neill Briggs said. "At the moment we are looking at Beijing and Shanghai. Details of locations are currently being finalized."
Briggs added: "This is a hand-crafted car and we believe brand Britain makes it even more attractive. The main challenge we have in China is to get road-legal status."
"We currently sell our cars to a number of countries which have passed it to be driven on public roads. It is really about educating people about the car, and we hope to use agencies such as UKTI to help us. Even so, some people are happy to transport the car to racing circuits," Briggs said.
"This car is aimed at a niche market, as an accessory, just as a Rolex watch would be. Although we have described it as the ultimate formula racing car for the road, it is incredibly easy to drive. If you can drive a car, you will easily be able to handle the BAC Mono," the co-founder said.
"It would be great if we found our first female customer in China. There are many self-made business people who would love to own this kind of car," he added.
A subsidiary of Northern Powerhouse, the company has established a factory near Liverpool John Lennon Airport with the help of Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson. The cars were reportedly test-driven on the airport runways.
The company plans to double their production to cope with demand. It currently produces only 50 cars a year, with exports accounting for most of the sales.