McLaren Elva is a $2.68m scorcher

The exotic sports car market is pumping on all cylinders and the latest British missile, the McLaren Elva, is about to make its mark as one of the wildest supercars ever made.

Inspired by the McLaren Elva M1A from the 1960s, the new 2020 McLaren Elva will be limited to just 399 units and is propelled by the brand's incendiary 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.

Slamming down 600kW (815hp) and 800Nm – slightly more power than the McLaren Senna but the same torque – the McLaren Elva is the lightest road car ever from McLaren, in part because the car's central tub, body panels, seats and sintered brakes are all made from carbon-fibre.

There are 32 mentions of carbon-fibre in the official press release and, astonishingly, the front clamshell's carbon-fibre surface is just 1.2mm thick.

Engine power is funnelled through a seven-speed seamless-shift gearbox to the rear wheels and the McLaren Elva roadster is faster to 200km/h than the Senna, dispatching the 'big boy' sprint in just 6.7 seconds.

That's also more than a second faster than the Ferrari Monza, its 588kW V12 propelling the Italian roadster to 200km/h in 7.9 seconds.

And if you're not wearing a helmet in the McLaren Elva you'll have a cheek-rippling, eye-watering good time. Roof, windscreen, windows? Too heavy, so they've been ditched… although a fixed windscreen is offered in some markets that require one for legal reasons.

But the McLaren Elva it's not completely devoid of practicality. There's a couple of hidden storage cubbies in the rear tonneau that will fit two helmets. It also has an 8.0-inch touch-screen infotainment system with an edgeless-glass screen mounted on a carbon-fibre arm, naturally.

Two seats and even seatbelts are included and with six-point race harnesses optionally available for track work. The interior also has a fairly robust - and swoopy - dashboard design, which appears to be water-resistant.

It's almost pointless to reference the 0-100km/h acceleration time in this class of car, but it is in the two-second range.

How light is it? McLaren says final vehicle weight is still to be certified, but it would be a miracle if it matched the original 1964 McLaren M1A race car's 551kg weight.

There's loads of cool aero and chassis tech tricks on the Elva, including an Active Air Management System (AAMS) system designed to shelter occupants from the hundreds of kilos of air slamming into them "by manipulating air flow while retaining their connection to the elements", says Macca.

McLaren says it works by using an active deflector that extends up to 5.9 inches to blast air over occupants, not into them, creating a bubble of tranquility. At 300km/h, we wonder how effective this is.

Claimed to be a world-first system, AAMS is joined by various active aerodynamic aids to improve top speed and handling, along with a cutting-edge linked hydraulic active suspension system.

Chuck in an Inconel and titanium quad-exit exhaust system and a traditional (electro) hydraulic steering system and the Elva should deliver an engaging, visceral drive experience.

Priced at £1,425,000 apiece – roughly $A2.68 million – the 399 cars will rake in over a billion dollars for the British brand, or $A1,069,320,000 to be precise (excluding taxes).

If the asking price seems a bit mundane to you, McLaren's in-house custom shop, MSO, can add loads of unique elements, including a 24-carat gold engine bay heat shield.

Roughly double the price of the McLaren Senna, the Elva has not yet been confirmed for Australia but given a handful of the former were sold Down Under, it's fair to say at least one or two right-hand drive vehicles will find their way onto boats bound for Australia.

McLaren's strategy leading into 2025 will see more new models roll out of its Woking factory, as part of its $A2.25billion (£1.2b) Track25 business plan. None of that money will go towards a McLaren SUV, bucking the trend that Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Ferrari have adopted.

The brand wants to remain pure and an SUV would be, well, impure.