The McLaren Elva is somewhat of a misunderstood vehicle. Many people figure it’s just a roofless 720S with some tweaked styling, when in actuality, it’s much more than that. But what is it like to take delivery of one? DragTimes shows us in his newest video, where he goes over everything interesting about the special speedster.
Starting with the obvious, this car has no roof or windshield. As a result, McLaren has included some clever features to make sure the car is still livable. For one, to minimize rain damage, the seats are water resistant and the optional stereo comes with marine-grade speakers. They also include special ballistic glasses to protect your eyes, as well as helmets with aero on them so they don’t ride up at speed. In addition to those protective measures, the main feature of the Elva‘s roofless accommodations is the active aero flap up front, which creates an air bubble around the cockpit to minimize wind disturbance.
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This particular car is finished in a matte Papaya Orange with “4” decals scattered about, which is said to pay tribute to some of McLaren‘s most famous racing cars. The body is constructed completely of carbon fiber, and the front clip is actually a single piece with no panel gaps to be found. All in all, the car weighs around 500 lbs (227 kg) less than even the 765LT, earning itself the title of McLaren’s lightest road car on sale.
And on top of that reduced weight, it also makes more power too. Just behind the driver sits a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 sending 804 hp (815 PS / 599 kW) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of torque to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) takes 3 seconds, and top speed is rated at over 200 mph (322 km/h), although you’d have to be pretty brave to take it there without a windshield.
To watch the delivery as well as the full rundown of the car, you can check out DragTimes’ video below.