His father has a garage of dream cars. Of all of them, his son would choose the $1.7 million McLaren Elva. “It is the best car I’ve ever driven, by a lot,” he says, although he finds the hood-mounted mirror ridiculous and the suspension terrible.
McLaren originally announced a production run of 399 cars. Shortly after launch, the British house slashed the production by 150. Former CEO Mike Flewitt explained that the brand received immediate feedback from its collector base. Customers spending north of $1.7 million complained that a 399-unit run was unworthy of an Ultimate Series hypercar.
The cap was lowered by customer demand to provide greater exclusivity. Later in 2020, McLaren quietly announced the final reduction, capping the total build run at no more than 149 examples due to restrictions and factory shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, all of them were already spoken for.
The one that Aidan’s father bought is car number 10 of the 149 that saw the light of day. Aidan says he talked to Max Verstappen, and the four-time Formula One champion had already sold it. I did a bit of digging, and Max has never owned an Elva. The one who had one was Fernando Alonso.
Photo: Magnacars | YouTube
The Spaniard owned car number 114. It was auctioned off by Bonhams on November 25, 2023, in Abu Dhabi, with only 3 miles (5 kilometers) on the clock, but it failed to reach the $2.5 million reserve, and Alonso retained ownership of the car. He quietly sold it shortly after for an undisclosed sum.
However, Aidan’s father is by no means planning to sell his Elva. He is actually a McLaren collector and plans to stay that way. He has a 720S Spider and a 750S parked in his garage and a W1 on the way. While the Elva started at $1.7 million when new, the W1 is a $2.1 million deal before fees and options.
The plug-in hybrid hypercar comes with 1,258 horsepower (1,275 metric horsepower) and 988 pound-feet (1,340 Newton meters) of torque. This time, production remains limited to 399 units, with no plans for the British company to lower that number.
Aidan gets to drive them all for one reason. His father likes boats more than he likes cars. So the 720S Spider, the 750S, and the Elva take turns, and he says that the latter is the best car he has ever driven, by a lot. That’s because it handles like a go-kart, it turns like a go-kart, and it grips back like a go-kart.
Photo: Magnacars | YouTube
For the money, the buyer got a roofless, windowless, and even windshield-less speedster. McLaren did offer a fixed physical glass windshield as a factory option for markets like the United States, but the upright glass altered the aerodynamics of the vehicle, so many of the customers went for the complete wind-in-your-hair experience.
The Elva is powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8, which pushes out 804 horsepower (815 metric horsepower) and 590 pound-feet (800 Newton meters) of torque. That is what pushes it from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 kph) in just 2.7 seconds and to a top speed of 203 mph (326 kph).
The V8 has to push forward only 2,531 pounds (1,148 kilograms). The ultralight architecture integrates a carbon fiber monocoque, while the full outer body comprises three main carbon fiber panels: front clamshell, the rear clamshell, and a massive single-piece wrap-around upper body element that flows into the cabin.
The vehicle lacks a roof, side windows, the windshield, the rear glass, the glove box, and the audio speakers, and even the seats are unique, lightweight carbon shells. In the meantime, upgrades such as the 3D-printed titanium exhaust system and titanium brake calipers save significant weight.
Photo: Magnacars | YouTube
In a conversation wth TJ Lamb from Magnacars, Aidan says the hood-mounted mirror is useless, but it looks awesome. There is something that he dislikes about the cabin. It lacks a temperature gauge, something that all his other McLarens do have. However, none of them are this light.
To protect the occupants from being battered and buffeted by the wind, McLaren came up with a world-first technology called the Active Air Management System (AAMS). Air is sucked into the front splitter and directed out of a hood outlet, while the carbon fiber deflector automatically rises 5.9 inches (150 millimeters) from the hood, which redirects air around the car to create what McLaren calls the “Bubble of Calm.”
The Elva came with a pair of bespoke helmets developed in partnership with Bell Racing, but with a single storage space under the rear carbon-fiber tonneau cover for one helmet. Aidan says he doesn’t wear it because it makes him look like a cartoon character. The interior panel of the door is painted just like the exterior, and there is no glovebox.
Two seats, a steering wheel, and two screens, that’s all you get on board the Elva. It is obvious that storage space has never been a priority when designing the model. Well, the McLaren Elva is definitely not about storage space, but about the wind-in-your-hair experience.
