McLaren cuts Elva production again, unveils optional windshield
Despite adding 44 pounds, the windshield doesn't reduce performance, and it makes the Elva road-legal in the US.
When the McLaren Elva was first unveiled back in 2019, the British supercar-maker said it would be building 399 of the roofless, windshield-less speedsters. Then, at the start of the pandemic, McLaren announced it would be cutting production down to 249 units, citing feedback from customers who wanted the Elva to be more exclusive. Production of the Elva has since commenced, and McLaren now says that only 149 Elvas will be built.
No reason for the second production slash has been given, but it's not surprising that McLaren might have trouble finding enough buyers -- the Elva is a really specialized car, after all -- or customers that are still annoyed by the volume of limited-run supercars that the company has been pumping out. For comparison, the Aston Martin V12 Speedster is limited to 99 units, while Ferrari is making fewer than 500 of its SP Monzas.
The windshield is heated, and you get a real rear-view mirror and sun visors.
While the Elva comes with no windshield as standard, instead using a fancy Active Air Management System on the hood that channels airflow over the occupants, McLaren also unveiled the Elva's optional windshield. Because of the lack of windshield, no Elvas sold in the US would be road legal, though they could be driven under show and display laws. But the available windshield makes the Elva fully road legal in the States.
Choosing the windshield brings a redesigned hood with a much cleaner look, as the car no longer needs the complex AAMS venting and pop-up deflector system, but I personally prefer how the car looks sans windshield overall. The windshield's surround is carbon fiber, and it gets a legit rear-view mirror, sun visors and rain-sensing wipers. The windshield is heated, too. There still aren't any side windows, though, or a roof.
McLaren says that despite the windshield adding 44 pounds of weight, the car's stiffness is the same and the performance is unchanged. The Elva has a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine making 804 horsepower, and like with the windshield-less car it will hit 60 mph in 2.8 seconds and make it to 124 mph in a scant 6.8 seconds. There's no word on how much money the windshield will cost -- if it costs extra at all -- but the standard Elva starts at an eye-watering $1,690,000.
