Luxury supercar manufacturer McLaren Automotive will shortly commence production of the windscreen version of its Elva roadster. Designed for customers who prefer to have a physical screen rather than the barrier of air provided by the Active Air Management System (AAMS), as well as to meet local legal requirements in some states in the USA, the windscreen variant – which will be among the rarest of McLarens – is revealed today in full for the first time, with images of the prototype car.
While having had its own engineering programme to optimise aerodynamic and dynamic performance, the windscreen Elva shares all of the ethos and performance of the original car: neither has a roof, side windows or rear screen, which when combined with a dry lightest weight of less than 1300kg* and a mid-mounted, 815PS, twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine, delivers the ultimate in driver exhilaration.
The screenless Elva is McLaren Automotive’s lightest-ever road car and the target for the windscreen version is only 20kg* heavier, even with the inclusion of electronically synchronised rain-sensing wipers, washer jets and sun visors, as well of course as the heated glass windscreen within a carbon fibre surround. The Active Air Management System (AAMS) is deleted as it has no role to play in the windscreen car.
The acceleration of both versions is comparable with that of a McLaren Senna, the screenless model reaching 100km/h from standstill in 2.8 seconds* and covering 0 – 200km/h in 6.8 seconds*. Dynamic performance and vehicle stiffness also remain unchanged from the screenless car, as does the scintillating driving experience. 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.
