US versions of the McLaren Elva to come with windscreens



When McLaren unveiled the Elva supercar, it wasn’t only incredibly stunning but just as rare as it is one of the very few cars that came without a windscreen.  

All that has changed as McLaren has just issued images of the first Elva that is fitted with a full-sized windscreen. The company said the front windscreen is required to meet regulations in certain states in the USA as well as for customers who prefer the presence of the physical screen.

McLaren says the windscreen, which is a permanent fixture, affords greater protection from the elements but it does not in any way reduce the levels of excitement as the supercar will still have no side windows, roof, and rear windscreen.

Thanks to the usage of carbon fibre, the windscreen and all its accompanying driver features such as electronically synchronised rain-sensing wipers, washer jets and sun visors, as well as heated glass, weigh just 20 kg. The world’s first Active Air Management System (AAMS) originally developed to deflect wind away from the occupants is thus deleted as it serves no benefit in the windscreen car.

The Elva is McLaren’s latest Ultimate Series supercar with a bespoke carbon fibre chassis and body; making it the lightest road car ever from McLaren Automotive. The name Elva stems from customer versions of race cars designed by the late founder Bruce McLaren – the McLaren-Elva M1A of the 1960s.

It’s powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 with 815 hp and 800 Nm. 0 to 100 km/h takes approximately 2.8 seconds in either windscreen configuration, while 0 to 200 km/h is done in under seven seconds.

After all the back-and-forth on production numbers, McLaren concluded that only 149 units of the supercar priced from GBP1.4 million will be built. In that case, the windscreen-version Elva will be one of the rarest McLaren ever.  

Other examples of windscreen-less supercar are the Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2 that pay tribute to the 1948 Ferrari 166 MM and the Aston Martin V12 Speedster. Meanwhile, just yesterday, a Dutchman finally took possession of his specially-commissioned Mercedes AMG GT R Roadster’s with a removed windscreen and replaced it with a central beam – making it look like a giant pair of flip-flops.


GALLERY