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One of my first treasures was a damaged and chipped scale model of a McLaren M-series Can-Am car. It was turquoise green, flat like a matchbox with gold wheels, and barely had a screen. I would throw it around imaginary homemade racetracks, scratch it in front of bookcases and throw it wild slides on the uneven stone floors of our unheated Yorkshire farmhouse in the center in my quest to learn more about this car from strange looking race. What was it like to drive one of those conquering cars, to throw it around the corners. How did you feel, what was it like?
Being five at the time made it unlikely that I would find out. But the black and white footage – no color television in our village – footage of McLarens storming the catwalks in the mid-1960s stuck with me, as definitely as the scar on my leg from playing Catch the Pitchfork. that summer, all those years ago. Looking at classic McLaren M racing models now, they still look incredibly raw and fabulously dangerous. Everything a real racing car should be. But to drive one? It will probably never happen.
Where is it? That’s where the new McLaren Elva comes in. For 149 nostalgic speed-obsessed old gits like myself – and some of the inevitable and definitely priapic influencers – the Elva is like being attached to your favorite love and drenched in it. hot chocolate. Officially, this is the fifth car in McLaren’s ultimate series, which follows the OG F1 in 1994 and has the demonic P1, physics-upset Senna and stretched Speedtail as siblings. But, unofficially and mostly to me, it’s a modern reinvention of a car that gives McLaren Can-Am’s dream one last chance to live and drive.
Basically, the Elva uses most of the greasy and electric bits of the Senna. The engine is the same hairy 804bhp twin-turbo V8, and the brakes are the same stop-the-world sintered carbon elements with lightened titanium caliper pistons – they save 1kg per turn. The suspension, which is bolted to the Senna carbon tub, is a retuned version of the sensitive and highly intelligent multimode electro-hydraulic system. But after this batch, the already exotic datasheet zooms even further into the fantasy-only territory of Elva.
With the almost weightless doors open almost vertically, you step through one of the widest thresholds in automotive history, stand in the floor, and lower yourself into the carbon bucket seats. The front view is that of the instrument’s oval cockpit, with chassis and engine modes accessible via a tilt rocker on either side of the nacelle. There is a small vertical display, according to standard McLaren practice, to control things like the heater and, more importantly, the 15-level drift control. Plus a row of buttons under the dashboard for AAMS and the surprisingly small – starter version. But that’s all.
The body is made up of three huge carbon fiber sculptures – you can’t just call them simple body panels – that dip and swell like the Cotswold countryside tightly over the components inside. But even with all the curves added, there is still more than a fleeting resemblance to the Can-Am cars of yore. Pointed nose, large front wheels, rounded hips with large cooling grilles. Everything is there and more. The “ plus ” being the built-in seat bumps – which contain ballistic rollover protection – instead of rolling hoops, a rear divider that looks like a giant bread rack, and a series of horizontal slots on the hood where the deep duct was on the Race Cars.
One of these locations contains a key element of Elva’s magic. Known as McLaren Active Air Management System (AAMS), when activated – there is a button to turn it on and off; it’s not always on – it lifts a flap about six inches in the air flowing through the front of the car, to reduce the explosion on the driver and passenger. When activated, it appears at 30 mph and stays well over the national speed limit. It is designed to stifle the flow of air. But you have to think ahead. If you suddenly find yourself doing 60mph and want to reduce the explosion, you’ll have to slow down to 30mph to make it reappear, but that could be peculiar to this pre-production car. The claim is that it can be used at any speed.
The reason AAMS is there, of course, is the complete absence – to the utter disbelief of every person who sees it – of a screen. Owners will be able to specify a short bug shield like the newer M-model racing cars, which many might consider essential, not least because it makes the Elva look more authentic. But, while that would make the car more usable on a daily basis, specifying the screen removes the AAMS. So I would still understand anyone who wants the clean look without the screen. You can easily spot these people: they will have a bicep where their neck was.
Because there is no escaping it, the relentless blowing of the wind in the Elva above 80 mph is simply brutal. I’ve ridden motorcycles without a three-digit display which offers less vibration than what you experience here. Even curled up as far as possible and wearing a helmet, it feels like you’ve been glued to the front of a fighter plane. In the passenger seat, it’s even worse – or better depending on your perspective.
Braking for a turn after a short straight but very energetically attacked – the 1148 kg Elva accelerates faster than the Senna – I look through my visor at Jamie the photographer sitting next to me, bareheaded. Looking like a combination of a human smiley emoji and Sonic the Hedgehog, he claims the Elva is the most fun he’s had in a car in years, and I agree.
But that was far from our first impressions when we first got the keys to the car. Despite every bit of common sense that requires us to wear a helmet at all times in this 203mph roofless hypercar, we hit the Beverly Hills traffic with no more protection than sunglasses. Surely we would be fine even without AAMS, right? False. Even at 40 mph the wind blows our hats and makes our eyes itch uncontrollably. It’s not good.
If I had to compare it to anything it’s like the big brother of a Lotus Elise
Pressing the AAMS button instantly makes it more comfortable, but not the pool of dead calm we had been led to believe. Maybe, we think, if we go a little faster, it will calm down. But after a 20 mile run on the 405 highway at normal speeds, a hat and glasses stuck to the head of one hand, eyes open, it was clear. Did we miss the point or did McLaren just make the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive hair dryer in the world?
So, a little puzzled, we give up, turn off, swap hats for helmets, and head for the canyons. And then, suddenly, anything that was a chore on the freeway and in town becomes a bonus. With a helmet deflecting much of the shake, we can focus and explore the incredible balance, power, and precision of the car. I’ve driven this road hundreds of times in over 20 different cars so I know it like the alphabet. And the Elva just destroys it.
The feel and the steering safety are the best I have ever experienced – yes, even on road tires – allowing for perfect placement on the road. The suspension, in Sport mode, judged by the millimeter, sends back just enough traffic data to let you know what’s going on, softening but not overpowering the details. And the engine is just huge. Majestic response, power that never stops and quick gear changes accompanied by the exhaust crack … it just feels like the most polished gem in a car. If I had to compare it to anything, it looks like the big brother of a Lotus Elise.
But it’s also much more than that. Without a screen to blunt the wind, all your senses are on high alert. You can smell the countryside passing by, the guy opposite vaping Strawberry Surprise, the horses, the coffee, the sea. You can also feel thermals in the air cooling and warming as you dive and climb the road. of Mountain. It makes the whole experience completely more engaging and fun.
It’s nothing bikers have ignored for years, but having the same feel in a car that can easily overtake most motorcycles is a first for me.
That’s why the Elva is such a triumph – and far from being the weird Ultimate litter runt would be, after a spotless F1, my first choice for miles. Especially if I could persuade McLaren’s MSO department to paint it a weathered turquoise green with a few chips and find a set of classic gold wheels. Crossed fingers. I have a lot of roads and tracks that I have been waiting for decades to drive in a true version of my precious Can-Am McLaren.
Photography: Jamie Lipman
McLaren Elva specifications
Price: £ 1.43m
Engine: 4.0-liter TT V8, 804 hp, 590 lb-ft
Transmission: 7 speed DCT, RWD
Performance: 0 to 62 mph in about 3 seconds
Top speed: 203 mph
Weight: 1148 kg
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