According to McLaren, 399 is just too many, apparently. In an interview with Australian Financial Review, McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt said that the production quota of the roofless Elva roadster has been cut down to just 249 units to enhance the rarity of the car.
“The feedback from our customers is that they think the car should be more exclusive than that, so we’ve capped it at 249,” Said Flewitt, explaining the 38% cut in production quantity.
The logic makes sense, on the surface at least. Other cars of the same genre rarely see past the 300 units mark – Ferrari will only make 250 units each for the SP1 and SP2, while the Aston Martin V12 speedster is limited to 88 units, and the Bentley Bacalar, 12.
However, things may not be as simple as it seems. Speaking to Autocar, insider sources suggest that the true reason for the cut in production numbers is due to McLaren severely overestimating demand for a model like the Elva.
The McLaren Elva is the latest addition to the brand’s cream-of-the-crop Ultimate Series. Designed to deliver the “purest driving experience”, the Elva does away all the unnecessary parts, including the roof and windscreen, making it the lightest road-going car McLaren has ever made.
To keep the occupants comfy inside and not ruin their hair, McLaren even designed what it calls the world’s first Active Air Management System, essentially “bending” air to create a virtual canopy above your head.
Under the metal is a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, producing 815 hp and 800 Nm of torque. McLaren claims that the Elva does the century sprint in “under three seconds”, and 0-200 km/h in 6.7 seconds.
We’re guessing the Elva is still available for order at your nearest McLaren showroom, provided you have the cash to do so of course – the Elva is priced at 1.4 million GBP, approximately equivalent to a whopping RM7.5 million, before our local taxes and duties.
