2021 McLaren Elva Is An Ultra-Exclusive Speedster

McLaren is ready to offer its customers a V8 two-seater Elva speedster, equipped with a windscreen aimed to be road-legal in certain US states. The surprise windscreen variant has optimized aerodynamic and handling performance, but it is otherwise mechanically identical to the existing car. There remains no roof, side windows, or rear screen.

Alongside the windscreen, customers will also new automatic wipers, windscreen heating elements, sun visors, and windscreen washers.  The windscreen's frame is made from carbon fiber. Elva joins McLaren's range-topping Ultimate Series model line with a price starting at £1,425,000 (including UK VAT) and is the lightest road car it has ever produced.

After its numerous tests on the Senna race track, the performance acceleration is ranked at 2.8 seconds needed to reach the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) distance is delivered by the 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine. McLaren did add to the traditional engine a revamped exhaust system, electro-hydraulic steering, and unique software settings and springs.

The Elva precedes the previous McLaren’s M1A, M1B, and M1C two-seat sports cars in the 1960s, and is a uniquely modern car offering the ultimate connection between driver, car, and the elements, featuring a bespoke, lightweight carbon fiber chassis, roofless, a windscreen or side windows. For more comfort, there is the Active Air Management System (AAMS) feature that automatically activated at speed giving its occupants a bubble of calm. The size of the twin rear buttresses was minimized by the use of the automatically deploying roll-over protection system. To ensure a maximized aerodynamic efficiency, Elva features air intakes on the rear buttresses and an active rear spoiler.

The interior features a carbon fiber element that follows from the rear buttresses into the cabin extended to the central armrest between the driver and passenger. For the dashboard, the automaker opted for a clean pebble-like feel design with a mobile instrument cluster, a new steering wheel, and the Active Dynamics controls mounted on the instrument cluster - an absolute premiere for a McLaren car. Let’s not forget the central 8.0inch touchscreen with its track telemetry system.

Other features include lightweight carbon fiber seats, lightweight non-slip mats as standard, and a range of trims designed to cope with exposure to rain, sunlight, and other intrusions. Customer deliveries are scheduled to start near the end of 2021 and only 149 units of the ultra-exclusive McLaren Elva speedster will leave the production lines. More performance details will be revealed later.