The Mclaren Elva unveiled as celebration of the firm's pioneering spirit

McLaren Automotive has unveiled its new ultimate series roadster, the McLaren Elva.

As the brand's first open-cockpit road car, the Elva adds a new dimension to the range-topping Ultimate Series lineage. Like its McLaren P1TM, McLaren Senna and Speedtail predecessors, volume of the new McLaren Elva will be strictly limited: just 399 are being offered for customer order.

The Elva name celebrates the renowned Bruce McLaren-designed M1A and McLaren Elva M1A of the 1960s.

Produced as 'customer' versions of the innovative and exciting Group Seven McLaren race cars, the McLaren Elva sportscars embodied many of the pioneering design and engineering principles that are integral to the McLaren road cars produced today.

A world's first Active Air Management System has been designed to shelter occupants by manipulating air flow while retaining their connection to the elements. The system channels air through the nose of the Elva to come out of the front clamshell at high velocity ahead of the occupants before being directed up over the cockpit to create a relative 'bubble' of calm.

The entire body of the car is made from carbon, and McLaren has pushed the limits of the material to not only create incredible sculpted forms, but to also reduce weight.

The front clamshell, for instance, is just 1.2mm thick and meets all of McLaren's structural integrity targets, yet it forms an astonishing one-piece panel that wraps around the entire nose of the vehicle and provides uninterrupted vision without any panel joints.

Perhaps even more impressive are the body side panels, which are each over three metres long and stretch from the front wheels, past the side intakes, around the rear tonneau cover and all the way until the active rear spoiler.

Performance is delivered by a 804bhp, 800Nm 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged McLaren V8 from the same family of engines that powers the McLaren Senna and Senna GTR. It features a flat-plane crankshaft, dry-sump lubrication and lightweight connecting camshafts, rods and pistons that reduce mass in the powertrain.

The increased power output is achieved through an optimised exhaust system with reduced back pressure and improved performance that reduces charge air temperatures. The exhaust itself is an intricate and lightweight titanium and Inconel system, with two lower exits flanking a twin top-mounted exit.

Power is directed to the rear wheels through a seven-speed seamless-shift gearbox, and works in conjunction with a launch control function, to deliver breath-taking performance: 100km/h from a standstill is reached in less than three seconds, while the McLaren Elva is quicker than the McLaren Senna to 200km/h at just 6.7 seconds.

The power of the McLaren Elva is complemented by a chassis set-up that maximises agility and driver engagement and feedback, enhancing the incredibly immersive and enthralling driving experience.

Electro-hydraulic steering provides the purest feedback, as expected of a car when the open-cockpit design positions the driver so close to the elements. State-of-the-art McLaren linked-hydraulic fully active suspension offers a staggering breadth of ability on all road surfaces, with both unique software settings and bespoke springs and damper valving matched to the extremely light overall vehicle weight.