McLaren slashes Elva production

McLaren has announced that it is 'enhancing' the wild and beautiful Elva hypercar's rarity by capping the number it will produce to just 249.

Speaking to

"The feedback from our customers is that they think the car should be more exclusive than that, so we’ve capped it at 249," he said.

Others have reported that McLaren had simply grossly overestimated the number of buyers willing to part with £1,425,000 ($A3m plus local taxes) for the roofless hypercar - the latest member its Ultimate Series.

Furthermore, some commentators have pointed out that Aston Martin has announced it will only make 88 of its V12 Speedster while production of the Ferrari SP1 and SP2 Monza was capped to 250 cars.

Borrowing its 'Elva' name from the lightweight open-top M1A race cars developed by Bruce McLaren, the modern-day spiritual successor was created for fun rather than to win races.

Weighing less than a Senna and producing 600kW from its twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8, that doesn't mean the Elva isn't fast, easily justifying its hypercar credentials with its sub 3.0 second dash to 100km/h and the 6.7 seconds it takes to crack 200km/h.

At those speeds, expect the Elva to get pretty blustery, even if its chief party trick is an aero package claimed to create a shield of air that reduces buffeting and means you can hold a conversation at speeds of up to 70mph (112km/h.)

Without a roof, windscreen or side windows, the Elva has been created for fair weather motoring and is said to provide a greater connection between the driver and the road.

Based on a bespoke carbon-fibre chassis and body, plus the same material used for the seats, the fifth Ultimate Series McLaren is the lightest road car it's ever made.

From its design and engineering, every element of the Elva has been sweated over to make it as beautiful as possible – a blueprint that necessitates three individual air intakes instead of one large ugly opening.

Even the exhaust has been optimised, not only to look good but to sound better.

Incorporating top pipes and a pair of widely-spaced rear tailpipes, the quad exhaust is said to blend a piercing high frequency sound with a lower, deeper sound for, what's claimed to be, one of the best-sounding cars ever made.

For the fortunate 249 revised buyers who have ordered an Elva, McLaren says deliveries should begin in March 2021.