25 Feb 23
It's McLaren’s take on the wild speedster storm that’s currently swirling around Planet Car.
In a bid to keep up with the windscreenless Joneses like the Lamborghini SC20, Ferrari Monza and Aston Martin Speedster (but following in the wake of the outlandish Aventador J, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss from a decade ago), this is what happens when McLaren snips off a Senna’s wings and dive planes, scalps off the roof, rips out the windscreen and then throws in some mad air management and engineering to try and make all that visual hypocrisy and performance work.
It’s called the Elva (a nod to the French ’Elle Va’, meaning ’She Goes’) and to put it bluntly: it’s utterly crackers.
Officially, it’s the fifth car in McLaren’s Ultimate Series, following on from the OG F1 back in 1994 and has the demonic P1, physics-upsetting Senna and stretched Speedtail as forebears. With 804bhp, it’s the most powerful non-hybrid McLaren ever.
The engine is the same hairy 804bhp twin-turbo V8 as the Senna, connected to the same seven-speed gearbox, while the brakes are the same Senna sintered carbon stoppers just with lightened titanium caliper pistons – saving 1kg per corner. The suspension, which is bolted to the Senna carbon tub, is a retuned version of the sentient and very clever multi-mode, electro-hydraulic system.
There are some new bits though, notably a unique way to try and manhandle the air so you’re not wind-blasted into a skeleton on a trip to the shops. Known as the McLaren Active Air Management System (AAMS), when activated (there’s a button by your knee to turn it on and off) it raises an incongruous wind brake at the front of the car about six inches into the air to reduce the blast on the driver and passenger.
Well, that’s what it looks like. It’s actually a bit more trick than that. The system lowers a massive actuated flap that redirects the airflow ingested up front, rotates it 130 degrees on its journey through the bonnet, then spits it out over the top and around an adjustable binnacle.
It’s a clever solution but the fussiest element of the car. All those bonnet slats, vanes and that incongruous pop-up wind wall contradict the wonderfully simplistic and elegant bodywork and well-proportioned design. The elegant carbon fibre body is made from just three main panels to save weight. It’s simple, powerful and muscular – like a well-toned calf. It’s softer on the eye than its downforce obsessed sibling, Senna.
With rounded off surfacing, a pointy nose, big front wheel arches, bulging haunches and vast cooling grilles on the side and rear, it’s approachable and appealing. Especially as it’s got an acceptable ride height and footprint. As well as being a lot less fussy than its rivals from Aston Martin and Ferrari. The Elva wears its engineering and speed with confidence.
And trust us, there’s a hell of a lot of performance to uncork.
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