Limited-production model honors a classic Bruce McLaren sports car design
The million-plus-dollar roadster club just got its newest member; meet the McLaren
Elva. Named after the McLaren-Elva sports cars designed by Bruce
McLaren himself in the 1960s, the new Elva will be a two-seat, open-top
hypercar powered by a 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V-8 similar to the one found
in the Senna.
McLaren says the Elva is the lightest road car the firm has ever
designed thanks in part to a bespoke carbon-fiber body and chassis,
special carbon-fiber seats, and sintered carbon ceramic brakes.
In similar fashion to the Ferrari Monza SP2,
the Elva is long, low, wide, and extremely handsome. The rear
buttresses both look great and provide deployable rollover protection.
The vent on the hood of the Elva is there to toss air up and over the
passengers with patented tech McLaren calls Active Air Management System
(AAMS). This trick air-bending feature works via a deployable deflector
that extends at the leading edge of the hood outlet, creating a
low-pressure zone near the vent. AAMS is so effective that McLaren says
the driver and passenger won't need to wear a helmet at high speeds,
even if their car doesn't have the optional windscreen—which is mandated
by law in some U.S. states. In such cases, a fixed-windshield option
will be available (pictured below).
The Elva features completely bespoke body panels and a new
architecture, all of which are made from carbon fiber. Like the one-off
Aventador J from years ago, parts of the bodywork flow into the cabin to
accentuate the connection between the driver and the elements. The
drive controls for the Elva are located near the gauge cluster—and not
in the center stack like in every other modern McLaren. In the Elva, a
rotary control is placed on one side of the instrument binnacle that
controls drive modes.
The V-8 motivating the Elva packs 804 hp—up 15 hp from the Senna—and
has no hybrid batteries or electric motors of any kind. McLaren says
the Elva will get from 0-60 mph in less than 3 seconds, accelerate to
124 mph quicker than a Senna, and land you in jail very shortly
thereafter (McLaren didn't say that part, but we assume the company
doesn't advocate hitting triple-digit speeds on the street). Not to
worry though, because if you can afford the Elva's $1,690,000 starting
price, making bail and paying off a speeding ticket probably won't
trouble your coffers too much. Just 399 Elvas will be built, and
surprisingly not all of them are spoken for yet—so act while you still
can!
