It’s got no windshield and no roof, but this new £1,425,000 (~ P 93 million) McLaren is road legal. The latest in their Ultimate Series models, preceded by the P1, Senna, and Speedtail, the McLaren Elva is the lightest road car ever from the carmaker.

Named after the “customer” versions of the Group 7 McLaren racecars of the 1960s, the McLaren Elva brings the feel of an open-cockpit racer to the open road. With no roof, windshield, and side windows, the Elva is designed to heighten every sensation.

Naturally, McLaren suggests helmets, but thanks to McLaren’s Active Air Management System (AAMS), the Elva is said to offer the world’s first “aero protection.” Using air inlets, a clamshell outlet vent, and carbon fiber deflectors, the system channels air through the hose of the car to come out of the front clamshell at high velocity before being directed up over the cockpit.


As always, the Elva is powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo McLaren V8. In this application, it makes 815 horsepower and 800 Nm enough for a 0-100 km/h time of under 3 seconds and 0-200 km/h in less than 6.7 seconds.

The appearance of the McLaren Elva is as striking and unique as the driving experience. The low nose and pronounced front fender peaks provide visual drama and at the same time enhance forward vision. Large, carbon fiber rear fenders flow from the front of the door to the rear deck, while the height of the twin rear buttresses is minimized by using a deployable roll-over protection system.

Thanks to a “blurred boundaries” design, there’s no clear demarcation between the Elva’s exterior and interior. Some elements, particularly the doors curve over and flow down into the cabin, while the buttresses behind the driver and passenger flow into the cabin behind the seats. The seats themselves are unique to the Elva—designed for support, yet integrates seamlessly with the upper shape of the cabin.


Oh, and in line with McLaren’s obsession to cut weight, the Elva doesn’t have an audio system as standard (it can be fitted at no additional cost).

As with all McLaren Ultimate Series cars, each one is tailor-made for the owner with a wide variety of personalization options including the new of 18-carat white gold or platinum badges, “gloss visual carbon fiber” which exposes the carbon fiber body panels, a 24-carat gold engine bay heat shield, and a new seat material called Ultrafabric which is like Alcantara but is breathable and made of synthetic material. It’s also supposed to be moisture-resistant and durable.

Only 399 will be made.