Rare Under-100-Mile McLaren Elva Roadster Goes on Sale… Again

Despite looking like the offspring of a McLaren 650S and 720S, the Elva takes inspiration from a much more prominent figure – the company's namesake and legendary racer, Bruce McLaren. The Elva was built as a nod to Bruce's roofless Group 7 racecars, namely the M1A, M1B, and M1C. Except it wasn't designed solely for the track, it's also a road-going car complete with three-point seat belts and racing harnesses.

Many supercars claim to offer a driving experience akin to Formula 1 racing; the McLaren Elva takes this notion to another level by essentially making its driver one with the machine. Yes, that includes sharing everything together with the car, from sights and sounds to road bumps and even exposure to the elements. However, its sheer F1 racing chops can make up for whatever it lacks in comfort.

Like legitimate F1 racers, the Elva features an automatic Drag Reduction System (DRS), a deployable roll-over protection system, and an Active Air Management system. It's as much of a tribute to McLaren's motorsports roots as it is an invitation for drivers to experience first-hand what made the company so successful in the first place. The question now is, how many are willing to pay for something that comes with no roof, no windshield, and a cockpit that's stripped down to the bare essentials, especially when the Elva's base price already starts at $1.6 million?

A true racecar by any other name

McLaren named its Elva after the French expression “elle va,” which translates to “she goes.,” and boy, does this supercar go when pushed. Having a 0 to 60 mph time of 2.7 seconds, a quarter-mile time in the high 9s, and an elating 804 horsepower are just a few of the Elva's performance highlights. Given that this speedster is also the lightest and most powerful non-electric-motor-aided model the marque had ever offered, it's easy to see why its name made sense.

Powered by a 4-liter twin-turbo V8 that revs to a hair-raising 8,500 rpm, the Elva is capable of reaching up to 203 mph (326 kph). It does little to hide the fact that it's basically a racecar that just so happens to be street-legal. Is that a bad thing? Not exactly, as providing a raw, visceral, and bare-bones racing experience was pretty much the Elva's sales pitch. Just take a look at this immaculate example of a 2021 McLaren Elva. It has an effulgent Pacific Color Stream paint job and, more importantly, only 91 miles (146 kilometers) on its digital odometer.

It's in quite a pristine condition for a car that's designed to be driven often, barely showing any signs of accumulated wear and tear, at least on the outside. Given the impracticality of using air ducts and retracting panels in lieu of any physical roofs and windshields, no wonder it hadn't been taken to longer distances. If it looks familiar, that's because this wasn't the first time a low-mileage example of Mclaren's lightest model ever went under the hammer.

There she goes again

When McLaren announced the Elva as a limited-production unit, it initially planned to build only 399 examples. Ever since, the British automaker had dialed down that number to only 249, before finally settling for only 149 examples. This particular unit is numbered 122 of 149, making it as rare as it is powerful.

Add the Elva's prestige and historical significance into the mix, and then we have a supercar that buyers would be throwing their millions at, right? Well, that wasn't exactly the case with our main attraction here. In 2022, the same Elva Roadster was up for grabs, and it was in much better condition at the time, given it had only done 82 miles overall. Although the exotic supercar's predicted price range was around $2.6 to $2.7 million, it only managed to get $2.1 million as its highest bid.

Then again, McLaren's racecar tribute is already pricier than its rivals – such as the Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2 – to begin with. Factoring in its oodles of options could easily raise the Elva's total cost past the $2 million mark. It only makes sense for sellers to expect these cars to be bought for even higher prices by the time they hit the auction block after having already spent that much in acquiring them.

Sure enough, the lightest model McLaren ever made ended up not selling, only to resurface on the auction floor yet again, albeit now with more miles under the hood. Who knows if “she goes” all the way to a new owner this time around? But if you happen to have spare money that's no less than two and a half million dollars lying around, feel free to win her over once bidding starts from May 12 to 20.