Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) has joined forces with iconic British institutions Rolls-Royce and the Royal Air Force to take part in STARRSHIP, a social media project to inspire the next generation as part of the RAF’s 100th birthday celebrations.
STARRSHIP centres around the question: “How would Rolls-Royce and the RAF come together to build a mission to Mars?” The team is launching weekly videos on YouTube about STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) and space. The project engages 13- to 25-year-olds with the world of science and technology. It’s inspired by the Royal Air Force, powered by Rolls-Royce, with BAC at its core.
BAC co-hosted the ‘Design a Mars Transport Vehicle’ competition for attendees at the Big Bang STEM Fair from 14 to 17 March at Birmingham’s NEC, where youngsters progressed through situations with the goal of designing and launching a spacecraft capable of making the journey from Earth to Mars to deal with a strange distress signal.
BAC showcased a bespoke-liveried Mono supercar for the duration of the event, complete with STARRSHIP branding. The single-seater displays a singularity of purpose on design and true engineering excellence, and it’s the realisation of a lifelong ambition to develop innovative vehicles that show what is possible when one challenges convention, making the Mono a perfect fit for the project.
The thousands of youngsters at the NEC were captivated by the brilliance of BAC Mono and engaged with the company’s senior designers to gain an insight into the intricacies of Mono and get ideas for their own Mars vehicles
STARRSHIP chose BAC to judge the Mars vehicle competition, assessing which entrant best captures the ethos of the RAF, Rolls-Royce and BAC while also thinking about the technical challenges of working on Mars.
The winner of the competition will be invited to visit the BAC factory in Liverpool, where they can see how Mono comes together and analyse the innovative technology that is present in each and every car. Alongside the BAC design team, the competition winner will enjoy the once-of-a-lifetime opportunity to begin developing their Mars vehicle.
BAC will go further on the road with the STARRSHIP project and will appear at further events alongside the Royal Air Force and Rolls-Royce, including the RAF Cosford Airshow and the Farnborough Airshow. 
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