History & character

The Elva pays homage to the barquettes that Bruce McLaren had bodied by Elva in the 1960s — the McLaren-Elva M1A and subsequently the M1B/M1C, ultra-lightweight machines devoid of roof or windscreen that forged the marque's legend before the Can-Am era. The fifth member of the Ultimate Series after the F1, P1, Senna and Speedtail, it translates this radical philosophy to the road: an open-top roadster laid bare to the sky, conceived for purity of driving rather than outright lap times.

Beneath its bespoke-sculpted carbon bodywork, the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 M840TR — the most powerful engine McLaren has ever fitted, derived from the Senna — develops 815bhp for around 1,270kg, making it the lightest road-going McLaren. With no windscreen, the Active Air Management System deflects airflow over the cockpit above roughly 40km/h, creating a bubble of calm. Originally announced at 399 examples, production was subsequently trimmed to 249 and then just 149 units, making it a rarity of the utmost extreme even amongst modern McLarens.