McLaren Elva reveals a new type of windshield

Addition of a fixed windshield option to the McLaren Elva speedster adds 20kg to the vehicle’s total curb weight

McLaren has revealed the fixed windshield derivative of its supercar McLaren Elva Convertible, which will be delivered to customers later this year as part of the model’s exclusive production of just 149 units. McLaren had originally announced production of only 399 McLaren Elva Convertibles, but announced that it would be reduced to 249 cars, and then to a total of less than 149 cars last September, according to McLaren.

Pricing hasn’t been revealed for the Alfa project, but the screen-free McLaren Elva speedster costs £1.425m in its base version, before customers add any of the customization options offered by McLaren Special Operations.

While the windshield variant is designed to meet road legal requirements in some US states, it will be sold to anyone who prefers the extra container of fixed glass over the AAMS developed for the windowless version.

In the screenless car, the buyer’s AAMS system takes air through technology in the nose of the McLaren Elva speedster that takes it in at the front and ejects it from the rear of the clamshell at high speed and above the occupants, creating a layer of fast-traveling air to protect them from crashing into hills.

The McLaren Elva speedster’s windshield still has no fixed roof, rear or side windows, while the windshield adds an additional 20kg to the car’s weight, which is still just under 1,300kg. The gross vehicle weight is likely to range between 1000 and 1100 kilograms, thanks to the carbon body that this very special McLaren version has, and of course it will be very special.

Power in this supercar is provided by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 that sends 804 horsepower and 800 Nm of torque to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

In terms of performance, the McLaren Elva speedster has a 0-62 mph time of 2.8 seconds and a 0-124 mph time of 6.8 seconds, pending final acceleration verification. While no specs other than acceleration were revealed, the added weight and screen drag means the 0-124 mph time is 0.1 seconds slower than the variant without the new glass screen, if those numbers hold.

McLaren Elva Comparisons